{"id":39872,"date":"2024-03-01T11:05:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T05:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=39872"},"modified":"2025-04-24T20:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T14:51:26","slug":"hydrogen-powered-ferry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/hydrogen-powered-ferry\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Modi launches hydrogen-powered ferry"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in news?<\/li>\n<li>What is Harit Nauka (green boat) initiative?<\/li>\n<li>What are hydrogen fuel cells?<\/li>\n<li>News Summary: PM Modi launches hydrogen-powered ferry<\/li>\n<li>What are the features of the f hydrogen-powered ferry?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in news?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday virtually launched India\u2019s first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell ferry.<\/li>\n<li>The vessel, manufactured by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), will be deployed for service at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.\n<ul>\n<li>The hydrogen fuel cell system was developed by KPIT Technologies, Pune, in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Labs, under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Harit Nauka (green boat) initiative<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the\u00a0initiative of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. It <u>envisages a green transition of inland vessels<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>In January 2024, the shipping ministry unveiled the Harit Nauka guidelines for inland vessels.<\/li>\n<li>As per the guidelines, all states have to <u>make efforts to use green fuels for 50 per cent of inland waterways-based passenger fleets in the next one decade, and 100 per cent by 2045.<\/u><\/li>\n<li>This is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as per the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.<\/li>\n<li>In line with this, the ferry can be replicated in other parts of the country for urban mobility. It is also a boost to the National Green Hydrogen Mission.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Hydrogen fuel cells<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>About\n<ul>\n<li>A hydrogen fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to produce electricity.<\/li>\n<li>It is a clean form of energy with electricity, heat and water being the only products and by-products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Working\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging. They produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied.<\/li>\n<li>A fuel cell consists of two electrodes\u2014a negative electrode (or anode) and a positive electrode (or cathode)\u2014sandwiched around an electrolyte.<\/li>\n<li>A fuel, hydrogen in this case, is fed to the anode, and air is fed to the cathode.\n<ul>\n<li>A catalyst at the anode separates hydrogen molecules into protons and electrons, which take different paths to the cathode.<\/li>\n<li>The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity.<\/li>\n<li>The protons migrate through the electrolyte to the cathode, where they unite with oxygen and the electrons to produce water and heat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/editor_images\/2024\/3\/1\/12\/46\/54\/65e180e6b2b37505a13ee863_OI.PNG\" alt=\"\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Limitations in India\n<ul>\n<li>High Cost:\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel cell systems are still relatively expensive compared to traditional energy sources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Lack of Infrastructure:\n<ul>\n<li>India currently lacks the infrastructure needed to support the widespread adoption of fuel cell technology, including hydrogen production and distribution networks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Technical Challenges:\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel cell technology is still in its early stages of development, and there are ongoing technical challenges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Policy Limitations:\n<ul>\n<li>The Indian government has yet to put in place a comprehensive policy framework to support the development and adoption of fuel cell technology.<\/li>\n<li>This has limited the growth of the industry and hindered investment in research and development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Steps taken by India\n<ul>\n<li>The National Green Hydrogen Policy has been developed to outline a vision for the growth of the hydrogen and fuel cell industry in India.\n<ul>\n<li>The aim of the National Green Hydrogen Policy is to make India the Global Hub for production, usage and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>News Summary: PM Modi launches hydrogen-powered ferry<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>PM Modi virtually launched India\u2019s first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell ferry.<\/li>\n<li>The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways met 75 per cent of the project cost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Features of the ferry<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Length and carrying capacity\n<ul>\n<li>The Hydrogen fuel cell vessel is a 24-meter-long catamaran, which can carry 50 people in its air-conditioned passenger area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Does not use conventional batteries\n<ul>\n<li>Hydrogen fuel cell vessels do not use conventional batteries as the primary storage house of electrical energy.<\/li>\n<li>The vessels run on hydrogen fuel, which is stored in cylinders.<\/li>\n<li>This boat has five hydrogen cylinders that can carry 40kg of hydrogen and support eight hours of operations.<\/li>\n<li>The vessel is also fitted with a 3-kW solar panel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Type of cells used in the vessel\n<ul>\n<li>This vessel uses a 50-kW PEM (proton-exchange membrane) fuel cell, with Lithium-Ion Phosphate batteries.\n<ul>\n<li>The advantage is that the cells can quickly change their output depending upon the power demand.<\/li>\n<li>PEM fuel cells are popular in automotive applications because they operate at a lower temperature, and are lighter and more compact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Environment friendly\n<ul>\n<li>The hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessel has zero emission, zero noise and is energy-efficient, which makes it more environment-friendly.<\/li>\n<li>Since there are no moving parts, the ferry requires less maintenance than combustion vessels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Other benefits\n<ul>\n<li>While hydrogen fuel cell technology has been under development for maritime applications, only a few countries globally have done demonstration projects.<\/li>\n<li><u>This ferry, thus, has given India an early mover advantage to tap the potential of hydrogen as an emerging green fuel in the marine sector<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1)\u00a0What is Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047?<\/h3>\n<p>Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 was launched by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways with an ultimate goal to make India the global maritime leader by 2047.<\/p>\n<h3>Q2) What is Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL)?<\/h3>\n<p>Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is India&#8217;s largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility. It is located in the port-city of Kochi, Kerala, India. CSL was incorporated in 1972 as a fully owned Government of India Company.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/pm-modi-launches-hydrogen-powered-ferry-features-significance-9188830\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>PM Modi launches hydrogen-powered ferry: features, significance<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/eere\/fuelcells\/fuel-cells#:~:text=A%20fuel%2C%20such%20as%20hydrogen,creating%20a%20flow%20of%20electricity.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/energyexplained\/hydrogen\/use-of-hydrogen.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>US Energy Information Administration<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A hydrogen fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to produce electricity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","7":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}