Govt issues guidelines for using Green Hydrogen as fuel in trucks, buses

New Delhi: The government on Wednesday issued guidelines for undertaking pilot projects for using Green Hydrogen as fuel in buses, trucks and 4-wheelers.

Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) will implement pilot projects for replacing fossil fuels in the transport sector with Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.

Officials said that these pilot projects will be implemented through the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Scheme Implementing Agencies (SIAs) nominated under this scheme.

The scheme will support development of technologies for use of Green Hydrogen as a fuel in buses, trucks and 4-wheelers, based on fuel cell-based propulsion technology/internal combustion engine-based propulsion technology.

The other thrust area for the scheme is to support development of infrastructure such as hydrogen refuelling stations, the statement explained.

The use of Green Hydrogen in the transport sector, via the proposed pilot projects, will lead to development of necessary infrastructure including refuelling facilities and distribution infrastructure, resulting in establishment of a Green Hydrogen ecosystem in the transport sector.

With the expected reduction in the Green Hydrogen production cost over the years, the utilisation in the transport sector is expected to increase.

The scheme will also seek to support any other innovative use of hydrogen for reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector, such as blending of methanol / ethanol based on green hydrogen and other synthetic fuels derived from green hydrogen in automobile fuels.

The Scheme will be implemented with a total budgetary outlay of Rs 496 Crores till the financial year 2025-26.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission was launched on 4th January 2023, with an outlay of Rs. 19,744 crores up to FY 2029-30. It will contribute to India’s goal to become Aatma Nirbhar (self-reliant) through clean energy and serve as an inspiration for the global Clean Energy Transition.

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