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MNRE Initiates 5 Pilot Projects for Using Hydrogen in Buses and Trucks

The government has launched five pilot projects under the National Green Hydrogen Mission to deploy 37 hydrogen-fuelled buses and trucks across 10 routes, along with nine hydrogen refuelling stations, with INR 208 crore in financial support.

March 04, 2025. By Mrinmoy Dey

The government has initiated five pilot projects for using hydrogen in buses and trucks, as part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. It will consist a total of 37 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles including buses and trucks, and 9 hydrogen refuelling stations.

“The vehicles that will be deployed for the trial include 15 hydrogen fuel cell-based vehicles and 22 hydrogen internal combustion engine-based vehicles. These vehicles will run on 10 different routes across the country,” said Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in a statement.

The projects have been awarded to major companies like TATA Motors, Reliance Industries, NTPC, ANERT, Ashok Leyland, HPCL, BPCL, and IOCL.

The total government financial support for selected projects will be around INR 208 crore. These pilot projects are likely to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months, paving the way to the scale up of such technologies in India.

The routes selected will include 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.

Earlier, MNRE had issued guidelines for implementing pilot projects in the transport Sector under this Mission. Accordingly, the proposals were invited for different types of hydrogen-based vehicles, routes, and hydrogen refuelling stations.

The thrust area for providing support under the scheme is the development of commercially viable technologies for the utilisation of hydrogen in the transport sector as fuel in buses and trucks and supporting infrastructure like hydrogen refuelling stations.

One of the objectives of the Mission is to support the deployment of Green Hydrogen as fuel in buses and trucks, in a phased manner on a pilot basis. “These pilot projects can demonstrate safe and secure operations, assess the effectiveness of hydrogen-based vehicles and refuelling stations, validate technical feasibility and performance, and evaluate their economic viability, thereby leading to hydrogen-based vehicles and hydrogen refuelling stations under real-world operational conditions,” said the Ministry.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission was launched on January 4, 2023 with an outlay of INR 19,744 crore up to FY 2029-30. It will contribute to India’s goal to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) through clean energy and serve as an inspiration for the global clean energy transition.

The Mission will lead to significant decarbonisation of the economy, reduced dependence on fossil fuel imports, and enable India to assume technology and market leadership in green hydrogen.

Tags:

Hydrogen / Fuel Cells

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Hydrogen Bus

Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles

Hydrogen powered bus pilot projects

Green hydrogen fuelling station

Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus

National Green Hydrogen Mission