Battery electric technology is working well in cars, smaller vehicles and buses but deploying it on heavy duty long-haul routes has not been easy. Hence, supported by the Government of India under its Green Hydrogen Mission, Tata Motors in partnership with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has begun India’s first ever trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks.
The historic trails by the country’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, in line with India’s vision of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and a significant step towards sustainable long distance cargo transportation, were flagged off earlier this week by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi.
Under the trials, which will span up to 24 months, 16 trucks and buses powered by two different technologies – Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle technology and Hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) technology – will be deployed. The initial six trucks flagged off will drive across key freight corridors, including around Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Surat, Vadodara, Jamshedpur and Kalinganagar.
According to Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh, the trials will unravel how the hydrogen technology will work in real life conditions and what tweaking and improvements would be required. The infrastructure and policy requirements to support hydrogen as a viable transportation fuel would also be known through these trials, he added.
Heavy duty trucks account for an estimated one-third of India’s road transport emissions. The 40 lakh-plus trucks ferry most of the country’s road freight. Hence, to support decarbonisation in this sector, the Union government is exploring hydrogen, and green hydrogen as a viable fuel alternative.
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Wagh justified the trials of two different technologies – hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle and hydrogen IC engine – saying which way the hydrogen technology will move in the future is not clear.
Tata Motors was awarded the tender for the trials funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
The trial phase of up to 24 months involves deployment of 16 advanced hydrogen-powered vehicles with varying configurations and payload capacities.
The vehicles have an operational range of 300-500 kms and are engineered for sustainable, cost-efficient, and high-performance transportation.
