India to Pilot Hydrogen Buses and Trucks on 10 Roads

India will pilot hydrogen-powered buses and trucks on 10 roads across the country, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday, adding that major conglomerates including Reliance Industries, Tata Group, NTPC and Ashok Leyland have joined the initiative.

"We have undertaken a pilot project that on 10 roads of India hydrogen buses and trucks will start. Reliance, Tata, NTPC, Ashok Leyland and many others have joined hands with us for this. We have started making hydrogen," Gadkari said.

Also read: Petrol, diesel price hikes in India remain 'very minor' compared with global peers: Hardeep Singh Puri

The minister was speaking at the launch of Maruti Suzuki's WagonR Flex Fuel in New Delhi, where Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri also addressed the gathering.

Gadkari said India now has the potential to shift from an energy-importing nation to an energy-exporting one, citing the country's progress on ethanol, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel.

"We now have the potential to go from an energy importing nation to an energy exporting nation," he said.

On sustainable aviation fuel, Gadkari said India is currently producing 78,000 tonnes per year and could become a net SAF exporter within two years. He added that the government intends to eventually run fighter jets and helicopters on SAF as well.

"After ethanol, we will start working on sustainable aviation fuel. We want our fighter jets and helicopters to work on SAF. We can become a nation exporting SAF within two years," he said, describing hydrogen as "a fuel for the future."

Gadkari also addressed scepticism around ethanol, saying the involvement of major corporations in the space was itself a validation of its viability. "There have been many misconceptions about ethanol. But when big cos are working with ethanol, they must have thought it through," he said.

Puri, meanwhile, said petrol and diesel price increases in India have remained "very, very minor" compared with most countries despite global geopolitical disruptions. He said India ranks among the countries with the lowest increase in fuel prices globally.

"In my calculation, India comes after Japan as the country which has the lowest increase in fuel prices amongst all the 193 countries in the world," Puri said.

The petroleum minister said flex-fuel vehicles are poised for rapid expansion after E85, a blend containing up to 85% ethanol, was identified as the mono-fuel standard under Bureau of Indian Standards specifications. The government plans to begin with around 50-100 ethanol dispensing stations across the Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridors, expanding to 500 by December this year.

"I think success is ensured," Puri said, referring to the government's phased rollout plan for flex-fuel vehicles across segments. "This is not merely a product launch. This is the beginning of a new chapter in India's energy transition."

Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said the company remains committed to supporting the government's ethanol-blending agenda, with the WagonR Flex Fuel representing a key step in bringing the technology to the mass market.