India's First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Bus Hits the National Capital Region (NCR) Road

In a milestone event, India”s first green hydrogen fuel cell bus was flagged off in Delhi on Monday by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri. The minister announced that India plans to launch 15 such buses in the National Capital Region (NCR).

India launched the National Hydrogen Mission in 2021 with the aim of producing 5 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030 and making India a global hub for green hydrogen and ammonia.

“Hydrogen is deemed the fuel for the future with immense potential in helping India meet its decarbonization targets. Global demand for hydrogen is expected to increase by four to seven times to 500-800 million tones by 2050,” Puri said at the launch.

The minister believes that domestic hydrogen demand may grow by four times to 25-28 million tones by 2050. Currently, India”s demand is 6 million tones. Public sector units under the ministry are expected to produce 1 million metric tones per annum of green hydrogen by 2030.

“This green hydrogen powered bus will transform the face of city transport in the country. I shall be closely monitoring the project and wish you all the very best for successfully executing this project of national importance,” he said.

The ministry has been speeding up its efforts to manufacture and employ green hydrogen within the refineries by undertaking groundbreaking initiatives. The minister also revealed that the ministry is actively pursuing projects to blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines, localizing electrolyzer-based technologies, and promoting bio-pathways for the production of green hydrogen.