Hydrogen wheels: The reasons behind Mr. Nitin Gadkari's significant wager on fuel cell-powered trucks.

According to Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, India is moving forward with hydrogen fuel cell trucks as a major approach to cut emissions in freight transportation, and the first steps are already being taken. Ten significant projects involving businesses like Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors are centered on building infrastructure for hydrogen refueling and running trucks and buses powered by hydrogen. While Ashok Leyland hopes to commercially introduce its first hydrogen-powered truck within 18 to 24 months, Tata Motors is testing 16 heavy-duty trucks, including hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (H2-FCEVs) and hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) versions, throughout significant freight routes. Additionally, Indian Oil is building hydrogen dispensing stations and investing in hydrogen infrastructure, such as the country's largest green hydrogen project in Panipat. Even with the encouraging advancements, there are still obstacles to overcome, including as high production costs, inadequate infrastructure, and regulatory gaps, especially when it comes to converting internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to run on hydrogen. According to a recent Standard and Poor's (S&P) Global assessment, if regulatory support isn't strengthened, hydrogen would make up less than 5% of India's heavy truck industry by 2032. However, efforts are being made to investigate the conversion of current cars and increase the usage of alternative fuels in commercial transportation and construction equipment, as hydrogen is a crucial component of India's net-zero aim by 2070. Since road transportation accounts for around 40% of India's air pollution, the government's push for hydrogen is in line with larger decarbonization objectives to lessen dependency on fossil fuels while meeting the country's expanding freight needs.