Tata, Plug and Hindustan demonstrate feasibility of fuel cells for telecoms in India

Tata Teleservices Limited, Plug Power Inc., and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, announced on Thursday that they have successfully conducted a field trial involving Plug Power's GenSys prime power fuel cell product in rural India.  Performed at a TTSL cell tower site in Bijnour, Uttar Pradesh, the field trial was designed to test both the performance of the GenSys fuel cell and the LPG refueling infrastructure for cell tower applications in rural India.  
 
The GenSys system, commissioned and operated by Plug Power, was used as the primary power source for meeting the site's total power load – consisting of the base transceiver station equipment, air conditioners, and AC lighting. The GenSys product targets prime power applications in areas, which do not have any grid power or have access to only a highly unstable grid.

It is claimed lower overall operating costs are expected due to longer life and lower maintenance and fuel costs, when compared to traditional diesel generators. The fuel cell's integrated reformer extracts the necessary hydrogen directly from the LPG fuel, thus eliminating the need for direct supply of hydrogen. The system's high overall efficiency reduces green house gas emissions as compared to traditional power generation and distribution methods.
 
Strata-gems management consulting group acted as the strategic advisor for this project.

Source: Fuel Cell Today