Jitendra Sigh hails indigenous development of hydrogen fuel cell-based marine vessel technology
17 Apr 2025
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India has achieved a major breakthrough in shipping and inland waterway transport by developing a hydrogen fuel cell driven vessel, in a joint effort by public and private sector participants. Developed jointly by Cochin Shipyard Ltd and KPIT Technologies, the inland waterway vessel uses a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain developed on a foundational R&D by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Union minister of science and technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also the ex-officio vice president of CSIR, has hailed the indigenous design and development of a hydrogen fuel cell vessel, which, he said, could lead to the development of larger ocean-going vessels based on hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Speaking at a high-level meeting convened to review the ongoing initiatives and achievements of CSIR, the minister emphasised the need for aligning CSIR’s R&D initiatives with the Prime Minister’s vision of self-reliance, especially in the areas of critical technology.
The fuel cell technology for the marine vessel was developed under CSIR’s industry-oriented NMITLI programme, in which the National Chemical Laboratory of CSIR, Pune, collaborated with Pune-based privated company KPIT to conceive and develop low-temperature PEM fuel cell systems.
The R&D has since been successfully adapted by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, besides the defence and automotive sectors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country’s first indigenous green hydrogen fuel cell inland waterway vessel at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, under the Harit Nauka initiative.
Dr Jitendra Singh highlighted two recent breakthroughs under the NMITLI programme, which included the development and commercialisation of CSIR-TECHNOS Raman Spectrometers (CTR-300 and CTR-150), in a partnership between CSIR–Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR–AMPRI), Bhopal, and TechnoS Instruments, Jaipur.
Dr Singh emphasised the need for greater industry-science partnerships to take forward national development goals, especially in the areas of green tech, precision instrumentation, and AI-based deep-tech.
The meeting was attended by Director General, CSIR, Dr N Kalaiselvi and all heads of CSIR directorates.
