Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Launches Hydrogen Fuel Transport Pilot on 10 Routes

Key facts

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the commencement of pilot trials for hydrogen-powered transport on 10 routes across India during the Prawaas 5.0 event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The 10 selected routes for hydrogen trials are Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Pune-Mumbai, Jamshedpur-Kalinga Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Kochi-Edappally, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad, and NH-16 Visakhapatnam-Bayyavaram.
• The trials aim to evaluate the performance, refuelling logistics, safety protocols, and cost dynamics of hydrogen fuel for buses, trucks, and other commercial vehicles.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has reduced bus-body approval testing charges by 50% and shortened the processing time from 16 weeks to six weeks to encourage quicker vehicle rollouts.
• India's automobile sector has grown from a valuation of ₹14 lakh crore to approximately ₹22 lakh crore, currently ranking third globally and supporting 4.5 crore jobs.
• The minister noted that India records roughly 5 lakh road accidents and 1.8 lakh deaths annually, with the economic toll estimated at 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• Current domestic bus production in India is between 70,000 and 80,000 units per year, which is significantly lower than the estimated requirement of 3 lakh units annually.
• The pilot projects will assess various hydrogen production methods, including green hydrogen from renewables, and the infrastructure requirements for on-route refuelling.