India’s first green hydrogen fuel cell bus was launched in New Delhi on Monday, September 25 with the purpose of bolstering green mobility.
The bus was flagged off by Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at India Gate war memorial. On the occasion, the Union Minister said that the government is working in a mission mode to bring in a new generation of green vehicles. He also highlighted the merits of green energy, and added that it has helped in bringing down the import bill of the country.
Vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells, in which hydrogen mixes with oxygen to produce water and energy to power a battery, can refuel in minutes and have a much longer range than battery-electric vehicles, but infrastructure is lacking and it is less energy-efficient.
Last year, New Delhi approved a 174.9 billion rupees (USD 2.1 Billion) incentive plan for the fuel, which is made using renewable energy and without producing greenhouse gases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
The move also supports India’s initiative in reducing the use of fossil fuels in the country. Union Minister Puri said, “This is our duty to the next generation that we move from the fossil fuel and internal combustion engine to a new green mobility and I want to tell you that the progress I have seen in this area and I am not saying this because I happen just now to be the minister of petroleum and natural gas but the progress I have seen in my short tenure is nothing less than absolutely revolutionary.”
More importantly, India has set a goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. As the country’s demand for energy and resources grows, a shift towards renewable energy sources is necessary to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Green hydrogen (GH2) is one of the most promising renewable energy carriers and has the potential to play a vital role in India’s low-carbon and self-reliant economic pathways.
Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water, powered by renewable energy. Unlike grey hydrogen, which is produced industrially from natural gas and generates significant carbon emissions, green hydrogen is renewable and carbon-free. The cleanest version of hydrogen is green hydrogen, which is generated by renewable energy sources without producing carbon emissions.
According to Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, 13 more buses will be launched by the end of the year in the Delhi-NCR region as part of the project.