Mallawa Ventures, a leading global investor and early-stage technology provider based in the United States, intends to build a hydrogen fuel cell electric bus manufacturing plant in Chennai. The company would also set up a hydrogen production unit to meet the buses’ fuel requirements.
The company has identified nearly 500 acres for the plant in Chennai, and the factory will create nearly 3,000 jobs. The first hydrogen bus from the plant is expected to hit the road in mid-2023.
According to Raj Karan, president and CEO of Mallawa Ventures, while hydrogen buses will cost twice as much as conventional ICE buses, the total cost of ownership will be much lower.
Mallawa Ventures plans to invest Rs 8,000 crore (approximately $1 billion) in alternate fuel-powered transportation in India by 2030.
Majority of manufacturing in India
The company intends to build 100 buses per month. While the technology will be imported, the majority of the manufacturing will take place in India. It is in discussions with state government officials, state road transport undertakings, private bus owners, and omnibus owners to promote the new concept.
“While people are still juggling with petrol, diesel and CNG, we are introducing hydrogen fuel cell buses. This segment is still in nascent stage in India. Over the next three years, we are likely to see more players entering into this segment,” Karan said.
The buses of 12-metre would be available in three variants of floor heights of 400mm, 650mm and 800mm. All three variants can run from 350km to 750km per charge which will take less than 10 minutes. It is planning to set up 10 charging stations in the city.
