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The Tatopani border point with Nepal’s northern neighbor China, which had been closed under various pretexts, partially reopened from February 9. Before that, the checkpoint had been completely closed for 20 days. The Chinese government had completely shut down the checkpoint from January 7 to 27 for the reconstruction of the Miteri Bridge.

Six goods-bearing containers arrived at the dry port of Larcha in Bhotekoshi village municipality between noon and evening on February 9 after the Tatopani checkpoint came into partial operation, informs Lal Bahadur Khatri, chief of customs office at the dry port. According to Khatri, six containers stuck at the Miteri Bridge since the border closure arrived at the port. “From there, the goods were loaded into six containers with Nepali number plates and dispatched to their destinations,” Khatri adds. So far, the border is open only one-way, from China to Nepal. Export of Nepali goods to China has not resumed, including at the Rasuwa port.

According to Khatri, at least 20 containers will enter the country daily from Khasa with the border’s reopening. “The Chinese side is also positive about increasing the number of containers it exports to Nepal. The checkpoint will be fully functional from February 14,” Khatri says, adding that the Chinese side has made internal preparations to send 40 containers of goods daily. With only 48 trolleys at the customs office in Larcha, the Nepali side has made arrangements to receive only 20 containers a day.

Tatopani is the main trade border point connecting Nepal and China. The Rasuwa checkpoint has been opened as an alternative to the Tatopani border, which has been blocked time and again under various pretexts. The import from China is worth over Rs 20 billion a year while export is worth only around Rs 3 billion, with the Tatopani border acting as the main trading route. According to Naresh Katuwal, president of the National Federation of Nepali Entrepreneurs, the number of containers arriving in Nepal daily via Tatopani is insufficient. “The entrepreneurs have been facing this problem for the past 3-4 years,” Katuwal says. “Even though the Tatopani checkpoint is operational, we have been unable to bring enough containers.” The federation has asked for import facilities for at least 25 to 30 goods-bearing containers a day.

Bachchu Poudel, president of the Nepal Himalayan Cross-Border Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says China has implemented a ‘quota system’ at Tatopani. According to Poudel, the containers with fresh goods are still stuck in China and only the containers carrying backdated orders have arrived.

Poudel says Chinese control over bilateral trade will remain in place until Nepali containers reach the Khasa market without any hindrance. According to him, the checkpoint will again be affected for the next three weeks with the approach of the Chinese new year. China has been closing its borders every year during its lunar new year.

Nepal is set to produce hydrogen fuel using excess electricity that would otherwise go to waste. Although this fuel is new to Nepal, in developed countries, it is used in three different formats.

Nepal Oil Corporation and Kathmandu University have jointly started the process of producing hydrogen fuel in Nepal following the signing of a bilateral agreement between them to work together in the field of fuel and energy.

According to Surendra Kumar Poudel, executive director of NOC, following the agreement, the national oil monopoly plans on producing and exporting hydrogen fuel. Thus far, the corporation has been buying fuel from India and selling it in the domestic market.

“The bilateral agreement is a cornerstone in the development of technology to generate fuel from electricity,” Poudel says. According to him, the plan to generate hydrogen fuel using excess electricity from hydropower projects including the Upper Tamakoshi is being materialized.

The Nepal Electricity Authority has projected around 53-840 MW of electricity to go to waste this year due to lack of consumption. The projection is based on the calculation that an additional 825 MW of electricity will be generated this fiscal year. This electricity is likely to be wasted during the rainy season due to high production, low consumption and zero export.

Electricity worth potentially billions of rupees is currently being wasted. With the KU’s technical assistance, the corporation has put forward a plan to produce three types of hydrogen fuels (gas, liquid and solid) using that excess electricity. The corporation can potentially earn billions of rupees by exporting hydrogen fuel while at the same time making a big dent on an annual fuel export bill of around Rs 200 billion.

As per the agreement, the Green Hydrogen Lab under KU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering will in the near future hold a demonstration on hydrogen fuel production using electricity. According to lab team leader Dr Biraj Thapa, a public program to produce fuel is being organized within February. After the program’s completion, production will then start and be scaled up in phases, he informs.

According to Thapa, about 50 units of electricity is required to produce 1 kg of hydrogen fuel. “However, due to the high cost of electricity in our country, the cost of production is going to be a bit high for time being.” If excess electricity is available at an affordable price, 1 kg of fuel can be produced at Rs 600. At current rates, it takes Rs 1,600 to produce a kg of hydrogen fuel.

Hydrogen fuel can be stored for a long time by converting it into gas, liquid and solid matter, as required. The corporation has prepared a plan to start producing hydrogen gas cylinders and gradually displace the existing LPG ones. Similarly, diesel-powered vehicles in the capital will be replaced by those powered by liquid hydrogen. The best bit? This fuel is pollution-free.