These hydrogen pumps will be set up by Indian Oil and Reliance Petroleum. Notably, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, and Volvo have already started making hydrogen-powered trucks.
The Central government has identified 10 highway stretches in different parts of the country to facilitate the operation of trucks running on green hydrogen, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. The minister added that there will be stations to fill hydrogen in vehicles on these stretches. These hydrogen pumps will be set up by Indian Oil and Reliance Petroleum. Notably, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, and Volvo have already started making hydrogen-powered trucks.
List Of Highways
The identified highway stretches include Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneshwar-Puri-Konark, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Jamshedpur-Kalinganagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad, etc.
Gadkari said that climate change is the biggest challenge facing India, adding that the country needs to improve its infrastructure to become a USD 5 trillion economy and the third largest economy in the world. While he also stressed that India has the potential to become the largest exporter of green hydrogen, the minister emphasised that by December this year, India’s logistics cost will come down to a single digit.
India’s Road Logistics Cost Has Come Down
Importantly, IIM Bangalore, IIT Chennai, and IIT Kanpur conducted a study, and all three came to the conclusion that India’s road logistics cost has come down by 6 percent.
Earlier, India’s logistics cost stood at around 14-16 percent, while in China it was eight percent, and in the US and the European Union, it was 12 percent. The Central government aims to make India’s automobile industry the best in the world in the next five years.
Gadkari had flagged off the countryโs first hydrogen truck trials in March this year. On the occasion, he had said, โHydrogen is the fuel of the future with immense potential to transform Indiaโs transportation sector by reducing emissions and enhancing energy self-reliance.โย
The government is stressing hydrogen fuel in the country to tackle the problem of pollution caused significantly by diesel trucks. Thus, preparations are underway in full swing to bring hydrogen-powered trucks on the roads.