Idea Cellular, India’s third-largest mobile services company, is teaming with Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLD) on a pilot project that will see Ballard fuel cells used to power five wireless station sites in India.
The fuel cells will be methanol-based. They will be used in combination with solar-generated energy to generate power at the sites, as part of Idea Cellular’s plan to seek clean energy solutions that will replace the diesel generators currently used throughout India.
The pilot project is being funded by a grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) as part of an energy cooperation program between the governments of the United States and India.
“India has a growing need for new sources of cleaner energy,” said USTDA director Leocadia I. Zak.
“Ultimately, this pilot project intends to demonstrate the viability of replacing diesel generators with fuel cell power systems not only at telecom towers, but also at other sites throughout the country that require reliable back-up power solutions such as hospitals, data centers and commercial areas.”
This is not the first time the telecom giant will use a Ballard fuel cell. Idea Cellular has been using a hydrogen-based system at its locations in the city of Nagda since 2012. The technology used in these fuel cells takes hydrogen by-products from a chemical plant and turns it into a low-cost fuel source.
The Indian government’s telecommunications department requires that at least half of rural telecom towers and at least 20% of towers in urban areas be using clean energy by 2015. Currently, the majority of wireless base station sites in India are powered by diesel generators.
Idea Cellular has 128 million wireless subscribers across India.
