Reliance Industries (RIL) and Ashok Leyland have unveiled what they claim is India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) powered heavy-duty truck. The vehicle was flagged off by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India at the India Energy Week.
Both companies have been developing the unique technology over the past year, which has been under testing since August 2022.
The Ashok Leyland H2-ICE heavy-duty truck range (19-35-tonne) is powered by hydrogen, maintaining overall architecture similar to a conventional diesel-based combustion engine thus helping quicker migration to cleaner energy sources at a relatively lower cost delta.
Dr. N Saravanan, President and CTO, Ashok Leyland, said, “Ashok Leyland has always been a pioneer in introducing state-of-the-art technologies in the commercial vehicle space. Working with RIL, we have once again demonstrated our technological leadership, and our commitment to the Clean Mobility Mission. Having one of the best R&D teams in the country, we want to continue our path to innovate and leverage new technologies to be a leader in sustainable and environment-friendly mobility.”
The OEM had recently demonstrated its futuristic vehicle range, powered by electric and hydrogen options at the Auto Expo 2023.