British construction equipment company JCB today unveiled its backhoe loader powered by a purpose-engineered hydrogen-based combustion engine in India, in the presence of Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
“The technology delivers the same power, torque and efficiency, but with zero tailpipe emissions,” the minister said while unveiling the product.
JCB has a £100 million project to produce hydrogen engines. The company noted that a team of 150 engineers is working to develop hydrogen combustion engines and more than 75 prototypes have already been manufactured at JCB’s UK engine plant.
India is the largest market for JCB, outside Europe. Recently, JCB India’s CEO and MD Deepak Shetty said to Autocar Professional that it expects business to double over the next five years on the back of current infrastructure projects announced by the government.
Earlier this year, the government announced the Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore from FY24 to FY30. The program targets domestic green hydrogen production capacity of up to 5 MMT per annum by 2030 and reduces the dependence on imported fossil fuels.
“Hydrogen holds promise as an excellent energy pathway to reduce carbon emissions in the road construction sector for the benefit of ecology and environment,” Gadkari said.
“It’s only a matter of time before hydrogen becomes readily available in India for a variety of applications. The transition from diesel to hydrogen will be much faster than what we think, and JCB India will be ready,” JCB India CEO and Managing Director Shetty said.
Separately, JCB UK also unveiled its own designed and built mobile refueling bowser to take the fuel to the machines.