Chennai-based truck and bus major Ashok Leyland will commercially launch its first hydrogen-powered vehicle in the country in the next two years, managing director and CEO Shenu Agarwal told FE.
“The technology has reached a certain maturity level where we can confidently say that we can roll it out commercially,” Agarwal said.
Hydrogen is touted to bring in the next major shift in India’s automotive landscape after electric vehicles (EVs). It is considered to be the cleanest form of energy worldwide as its only byproduct is water. When used for mobility needs, hydrogen has far greater benefits than petrol and diesel.
Hydrogen can be a practical option for long-distance vehicles, thanks to its lesser weight and high energy. Besides a 50% reduction in fuel consumption compared to conventional fuels, hydrogen-powered vehicles have higher drive ranges.
The Centre also wants the automotive industry to shift to hydrogen in the long run. In the recently announced GST reform, which will come into effect from September 22, the GST on fuel cell motor vehicles, including hydrogen vehicles based on fuel cell technology, has been brought down to 5% from 12%.
Ashok Leyland’s clean mobility push
Ashok Leyland, a Hinduja Group flagship, entered the EV space eight years ago through the launch of an electric bus. Since then, the company has progressed to launch light and heavy-duty trucks. It is now venturing into manufacturing battery cells which will be used for EVs.
“The first step was to develop all the alternative powertrains like EV, hydrogen and LNG. I believe we have reached a stage where we can confidently say that we can commercialise these technologies. That’s why we have started to sell EV and LNG powered trucks,” Agarwal said on the sidelines of the 65th SIAM annual convention held in Delhi last week.
Reliance Industries had partnered with Ashok Leyland prior to 2022 for the development of hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) powered heavy duty truck. The vehicle was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru in 2023. The same year saw Adani Group join hands with Ashok Leyland and Canada’s Ballard Power to develop a fuel cell electric truck.
National hydrogen pilots underway
As part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the government initiated five pilot projects for using hydrogen in buses and trucks. Earlier the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had issued guidelines for implementing pilot projects in the transport sector under this mission.
Accordingly, the proposals were invited for different types of hydrogen-based vehicles, routes, and hydrogen refueling stations. After detailed scrutiny, MNRE sanctioned five pilot projects consisting of 37 vehicles (buses and trucks), and nine hydrogen refuelling stations.
The vehicles that will be deployed for the trial include 15 hydrogen fuel cell-based vehicles and 22 hydrogen internal combustion engine-based vehicles. These vehicles will run on 10 different routes across the country. With a financial support of `208 from the Centre, these pilots are likely to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months, paving the way to the scale-up of such technologies in India.
