Hydrogen is ready to enter the automotive market, beginning with industrial automobiles (CV). OEM majors Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland showcased their heavy responsibility vans with H2ICE (Hydrogen Inside Combustion Engine) tech on the Auto Expo earlier this 12 months. On the opposite finish of the CV spectrum, a Hydrogen tech-powered 3-wheeler is ready to seem in India by December this 12 months.
Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM), the electrical three-wheeler maker, is the newest to wager on Hydrogen know-how. Not like the vans, the three-wheeler can be powered by Hydrogen gas cell know-how. The mission, within the works for round 2 years, is presently present process improvement and testing in an engineering agency in France. “It is testing proper now. In three months or so, we could have it showcased in France. After one other three months, in December, we’ll deliver it to India,” Omega Seiki Mobility’s Founder-Chairman Uday Narang informed ETAuto. Round USD 5 million is earmarked for funding through the fiesta section of the mission.
If issues go as deliberate, the Hydrogen gas cell car can be launched by “mid ‘24”. The cargo 3-wheeler will declare a 400 km driving vary in a single fill. That’s virtually 4 occasions the driving vary of an everyday battery-electric OSM cargo provider.
The flip-side is that price can be considerably greater than the BEV three-wheeler. It’s estimated that the worth may virtually double, however Narang pegs it to be round 50% extra. An OSM battery-electric 3-wheeler comes for round INR 4 lakh.
Narang is betting on decrease working prices resulting from longer driving vary, and considerably much less recharging time to work in favour of the 3-wheeler. “You possibly can run it 24X7, and you might not must cost it for 2-3 days. And the charging time is simply 5 minutes,” he stated.
The Hydrogen gas cell car was initially developed for the EU. The Indian Authorities’s push for Hydrogen influenced OSM to tweak its technique. “We did this as a result of we expect that there’s a room for hydrogen in the way forward for this nation,” Narang stated. OSM has joined arms with IIT Ropar (in Punjab) to localise the car mission and produce down prices.
OSM sees extra advantages within the Hydrogen gas cell know-how over the H2ICE possibility. Higher effectivity, capability to supply regenerative braking, and decrease operational and upkeep prices are cited by OSM as the benefits.
At the same time as trade gamers put together automobiles with Hydrogen know-how, the supply of the power provider or gas for automotive software continues to be not in place. The Central Authorities has introduced a finances of INR 19,700 crore for the Nationwide Inexperienced Hydrogen Mission, A number of ‘Hydrogen Valleys’ are anticipated to come back in several States. OSM is in talks to supply Hydrogen from a few of these locations. “We’re working in a number of locations. And we’ll take the offtake,” Narang stated.
Profitability Goal
The Hydrogen car mission of OSM can be extra for know-how demonstration than a quantity bagger for a number of years. The 5 12 months outdated startup is eyeing income by the tip of 2024-25, and the projection relies on some aggressive progress targets for its core BEV enterprise. OSM, which claims a ten% share and a 3rd place within the L5 class of electrical 3-wheelers with gross sales of 5,000 items final 12 months, goals to clock annual gross sales of 40,000 items by March 2025.
