Two Indian firms have agreed to cooperate on a project to develop two hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will produce the first fuel cell car within just six months, with the second to follow a year later.

The initiative is said to be due to the IOC's desire to establish a hydrogen economy in India in order to cut down on harmful emissions arising from petrol or diesel cars.

The prototype vehicle is expected to have a range of around 150 km and hydrogen capacity of 1.2 kg.

RECC will use its electric vehicle technology to develop fuel cell hydrogen cars with fuel cell stacks supplied by the Hydrogenics Corporation of Canada, while the IOC will provide the infrastructure needed to supply and stock hydrogen.

RECC is also to step up its advertising for the hydrogen cars in a bid to increase awareness of their green potential.

The company already has a prototype electric car which uses a hydrogen fuel cell, with over 1,000 RECC cars in use globally, including 200 in the UK.

It is said to now be considering extending its electricity-powered concepts to smaller buses and other vehicle models.