In a first, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) is planning to start a premium hydrogen fuel bus service on Delhi to Jaipur route. Giving a boost to green mobility, the plan for the upcoming bus service was announced by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways along with R. K. Singh, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, during the “Go Electric” campaign to spread awareness on the benefits of e-mobility and EV Charging Infrastructure as well as electric cooking in India.
Green mobility is gaining momentum in the country and apart from establishing a complete EV supporting infrastructure, the Indian government is now also planning more options towards alternative fuels in order to reduce dependence on traditional fuels. While electric cars and taxis are been promoted heavily by the government, it is now also conducting a feasibility study on hydrogen fuel buses. The new service is going to be a pilot project to test the viability of fuel cell buses for the intercity commute. This change is not just focused on public transport. In the same program, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that in the month of March, he will launch new electric tractors in the country. In Maharashtra, the government is trying to buy 40,000 electric buses for intercity traffic.
The government plans to invite bids for green hydrogen projects in the next four to five months, Power Minister R.K Singh added. “We are going to go in for green hydrogen bids in another four-five months. We’ve already had discussions with the relevant ministries” Singh said. Previously, similar bus services were seen testing in metro cities like Mumbai. In 2018, Tata Motors, in collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation, flagged off the country’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered bus.
