Proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology: India's perspective

India, with over a billion people and a growing economy, is one of the countries, which will shape the energy supply and demand scenario in the 21st century. With high growth rates of the Indian economy, energy needs are also growing rapidly. A growing global concern over environmental issues and the need for energy security of the country requires India to pursue all options for diversification of fuels and energy sources. In the coming decades, hydrogen is poised to become a major component in India's energy mix for meeting the growing energy needs of the economy. India's national energy policies acknowledge hydrogen as a promising energy storage option, which will provide clean and efficient energy to meet the requirements in power and transportation sectors. A National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap, setup by National Hydrogen Energy Board, India for the development of hydrogen energy related technologies including fuel cells, has been covered in detail. The most promising of all fuel cell technologies developed is proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), which operates at a lower temperature. The variant of PEMFC is direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC), which is direct fed with methanol and ethanol as fuel instead of hydrogen. The road map is an industry-driven planning process that offers long-term hydrogen energy based solutions to India's energy sector. A section of this article provides detailed information about the R&D activities on PEMFC, DAFC and high temperature PEMFC in India. This covers developmental work carried out by the government research institutes, universities and private sector organizations. A majority of organizations are involved in fundamental research, for e.g. polymer membranes electrolyte, anode and cathode catalysts and membrane electrode assembly and hydrogen storage with very few involved in manufacturing and technology. Some institutions are involved in more application-oriented research such as stack and balance of plant development and fuel cell bus demonstration program. The market potential for fuel cell based applications in India is discussed at the end. India, with a growing economy and a suitable national energy policy is a huge prospective market for fuel cell based applications. Stationary markets for fuel cells in India range from backup power for residential applications to captive power generation for industrial applications. This article includes discussion on potential of fuel cell based power generation in luxury hotels, process industries, chlor-alkali and dairy industry and telecommunication and information technology industry. Fuel cell applications in the Indian automotive sector are of great prospects. Initial penetration in this sector will be in buses due to their centralized operation, maintenance and refuelling. Light duty vehicle market also shows potential for fuel cell technology implementation. India has a large number of organizations in the light duty vehicle category, i.e. passenger car sector. © Printed in India.