NHPC has invited bids to procure three midi-intracity, 30-seater, hydrogen fuel cell electric buses for Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.

Bids must be submitted by January 30, 2025. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Selected bidders must design, engineer, manufacture, and supply three hydrogen fuel cell buses to Leh in Ladakh and Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. They must also provide freight and transit insurance and three-year comprehensive maintenance.

The buses must be procured from Ashok Leyland, i.e., original equipment manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses.

Successful bidders must supply buses with fuel cell systems with at least 55% energy efficiency at the maximum continuous output. Alternatively, they must provide busses with a minimum travel range of over 11 km per kilogram of hydrogen

They must supply two buses to Leh and one bus to Chamba.

Each bus must be at least 9-10 m long and be able to cover an estimated 220 km daily. It must also be customized for the climatic and geographical conditions of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.

The buses must have a maximum speed of 70 km/h and draw at least 75% of their power from hydrogen fuel cells.

The vehicles must be designed to store at least 20 kg of hydrogen at the fixed pressure of 350 bars in one go at the prescribed filling rate.

The project’s estimated cost is ₹93.01 million (~$1.07 million). The buses must be delivered within 12 months of the award.

Bidders must provide 5% of contract prices for supply and maintenance services, each as performance security.

In case of a delay in supply, successful bidders must pay 0.5% of the contract price per week as liquidated damages. The damages must not exceed 10% of the contract price.

If bus availability falls below 75%, NHPC will impose liquidated damages at 2% of 3 months’ payments for every 1% reduction in fleet availability. The total liquidated damages must not exceed 50% of three months’ payments.

To meet the buses’ fuelling requirements, NHPC will set up green hydrogen projects at Leh and Chamba to produce and store a minimum of 40 kg and 20 kg of green hydrogen, respectively.

The energy will be generated during the daytime from co-located grid-connected solar projects.

In 2023, NHPC invited bids to set up a pilot project for a green hydrogen-based mobility station in Kargil, Ladakh, to run two hydrogen fuel cell-based buses.

In October 2024, the Solar Energy Corporation of India invited proposals to identify an executing agency to set up Green Hydrogen Hubs under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.