Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has announced the launch of India’s first hydrogen highways at the inaugural World Hydrogen India event organized by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The initiative marks a significant step toward clean mobility and reducing India’s heavy dependence on crude oil imports.
Backed by a budget of ₹500 crore, large-scale hydrogen truck trials have begun with 37 vehicles from industry leaders including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo, BPCL, IOCL, NTPC, and Reliance. Nine hydrogen refuelling stations will be set up across 10 key freight and industrial routes, creating the ecosystem for India’s hydrogen highways.
The two-year trial will cover strategic corridors such as Delhi, Agra, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, Jamshedpur, Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, Jamnagar, Bhubaneswar, and Thiruvananthapuram, linking ports and industrial clusters where hydrogen can have an immediate impact.
Gadkari emphasized that India aims to produce 5 million tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030, creating 6 lakh jobs, attracting ₹8 lakh crore in investments, and reducing CO₂ emissions by 3.6 gigatons by 2050. This transition is expected to cut fossil fuel imports by ₹1 lakh crore per year.
Former NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, added that green hydrogen will be central to India’s ambition of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047, highlighting its role in jobs, exports, manufacturing competitiveness, and climate leadership.
The hydrogen highway project is seen as a bold step to transform India into a global hub for green hydrogen, reshaping long-haul transport, cement, shipping, and aviation industries while boosting sustainability.
