The government will sanction an additional 30 hydrogen-powered trucks and buses under the National Green Hydrogen Mission to expand pilot deployments in the transport sector, according to Abhay Bakre, Mission Director of the government’s Green Hydrogen Mission.
These vehicles will build on the 37 hydrogen vehicles that have already been sanctioned under five projects in the mission, along with 10 hydrogen fuelling stations. The pilots are focused primarily on heavy commercial vehicles such as buses and large trucks, where hydrogen is being considered a clean fuel alternative in the long term.
“In the Hydrogen Mission, we have already sanctioned 37 vehicles and 10 fuelling stations. We are also going to sanction another 30 vehicles, again buses and trucks,” Bakre said while speaking at the 4th International Symposium for Thriving Eco-Energy in Mobility organised by SIAM.
Medium and heavy commercial vehicles primarily operate in mid-mile and long-haul segments and are among the highest contributors to transport emissions. These vehicles require high payload and volume capacities, making battery-electric options less feasible given the weight and space consumed by large battery packs.
The pilot includes both hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) technology and fuel cell systems in mobility applications. While fuel cells are an established technology, the government is also experimenting with different hydrogen ICE configurations. Of the 37 vehicles sanctioned for trials, 15 are fuel cell vehicles while 22 are hydrogen ICE vehicles.
The government has earmarked around Rs 208 crore in financial support for the pilot projects under the Green Hydrogen Mission.
Companies including Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, NTPC, ANERT, Ashok Leyland, HPCL, BPCL and IOCL are part of the approved pilot projects.
Hydrogen, when generated from renewable sources, becomes a zero-emission fuel, making it an ideal solution for decarbonising sectors such as long-haul trucking and heavy-duty transport.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission was approved in 2023 with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore to scale up domestic production of green hydrogen and create demand across sectors including refining, fertilisers, steel and transport. It targets an annual production capacity of at least 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, alongside the development of electrolyser manufacturing capacity and supporting infrastructure.
Within transport, the focus is on heavy-duty applications, in contrast to battery-electric vehicles which have seen faster penetration in two- and three-wheelers. Hydrogen is being positioned for long-haul trucks and intercity buses, where refuelling time and range are critical factors.
Bakre said transport could see earlier and faster hydrogen adoption compared with some other sectors. “Mobility is one area where all these green fuels can be experimented with and then scaled up in a much more effective and equitable manner than most other sectors,” he said.
The additional 30 vehicles are expected to deepen real-world testing of hydrogen technologies in India’s road transport sector and provide data for future scale-up decisions under the mission.
In 2024, Ashok Leyland, in collaboration with Reliance, unveiled the country’s first hydrogen internal combustion engine-powered heavy-duty truck. Tata Motors also delivered hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses to Indian Oil.
