Govt launches 5 pilots projects on hydrogen-fuelled buses, trucks across 10 routes

The government has launched five pilot projects to deploy hydrogen-fuelled buses and trucks under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) said on Monday.

The MNRE has sanctioned 37 hydrogen-powered vehicles, including 15 fuel-cell vehicles and 22 internal combustion engines, to operate on 10 routes across the country. Nine hydrogen refuelling stations will also be set up as part of the initiative.

The selected routes include Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Pune-Mumbai, Jamshedpur-Kalinga Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Kochi-Edappally, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad, and NH-16 Visakhapatnam-Bayyavaram, the ministry said.

The projects have been awarded to major companies, including Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Ashok Leyland, HPCL, BPCL, IOCL, and the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT).

The government has allocated ₹208 crore for financial support. The pilot projects are expected to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months.

“The thrust area for providing support under the scheme is the development of commercially viable technologies for the utilization of hydrogen in the transport sector as fuel in buses and trucks and Supporting infrastructure like Hydrogen refuelling stations,” it said.

Launched on January 4, 2023, with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore until FY 2029-30, the National Green Hydrogen Mission is part of India's efforts to achieve self-reliance in clean energy and drive the global clean energy transition.

The Mission seeks to decarbonize the transport sector, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and position India as a leader in green hydrogen technology.