Delhi- Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the government has launched five pilot projects to deploy hydrogen in buses and trucks. Previously, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued guidelines for implementing pilot projects in the transport sector under this initiative.
As part of this initiative, proposals were invited for various hydrogen-based vehicle types, routes, and refueling stations. Following a detailed evaluation, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has approved five pilot projects, comprising a total of 37 vehicles (buses and trucks) and nine hydrogen refueling stations.
The trial will feature 15 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 22 hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles, operating on 10 designated routes across the country viz., Greater Noida – Delhi – Agra, Bhubaneshwar – Konark – Puri, Ahmedabad – Vadodara – Surat, Sahibabad – Faridabad – Delhi, Pune – Mumbai, Jamshedpur – Kalinga Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram – Kochi, Kochi – Edappally, Jamnagar – Ahmedabad, and NH-16 Visakhapatnam – Bayyavaram. These projects have been awarded to major companies, including TATA Motors Ltd, Reliance Industries Limited, NTPC, ANERT, Ashok Leyland, HPCL, BPCL, and IOCL.
The Government of India has allocated INR 208 crore (23.71 million USD ), for five pilot projects under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, expected to be commissioned within 18-24 months. These initiatives aim to develop commercially viable hydrogen fuel technologies for buses and trucks, along with supporting infrastructure like refueling stations.
The mission focuses on demonstrating the safety, feasibility, and economic viability of hydrogen-based transport, paving the way for large-scale adoption. Launched on January 4, 2023 until FY 2029-30, it supports India's goal of self-reliance in clean energy, decarbonization, and global leadership in Green Hydrogen.