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Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday made a strong push for hydrogen-powered mobility, saying he is already using hydrogen vehicles and that trucks and buses running on the fuel are set to hit Indian roads soon.
Speaking at the Navbharat Conclave, Gadkari said he personally drives multiple alternative-fuel vehicles and wants more people to adopt hydrogen. "I drive electric, flex-fuel and hydrogen vehicles; I have all three at home right now," he said. "I have all three cars in my house. Those who have understood, come to my house after the program, and take a ride in all three cars." The Minister recounted how he got his first hydrogen car after a conversation with his wife and Toyota India's Vikram Kirloskar. "I travel in a hydrogen car. It is better than Mercedes," Gadkari said, adding that the experience convinced him of the technology's potential. Gadkari said the focus is now shifting from passenger cars to commercial vehicles. He announced that hydrogen-powered trucks and buses are arriving. "Now, hydrogen trucks are arriving. I recently launched Tata's hydrogen-powered trucks--one running on a hydrogen fuel cell and another new one that uses an internal combustion (IC) engine modified to run on hydrogen," he said. The Minister outlined a pilot aimed at public transport. "Now hydrogen buses are coming too. I am running a pilot project in Nagpur: hydrogen will be produced, filled into buses, and the buses will run," Gadkari said. He described the Nagpur project as a template for scaling. "Hydrogen will be ready. We will fill it in the buses and the buses will run," he added. Gadkari has been advocating for a shift away from fossil fuels to cut import dependence and emissions. At the conclave, he linked hydrogen to India's broader alternative fuel push, which already includes ethanol and electric vehicles. While he acknowledged skepticism around the technology, he urged people to experience it directly. The Minister's remarks come as automakers like Tata are testing both fuel cell and hydrogen-IC engine platforms for trucks, signaling early commercial interest. With pilots for buses in Nagpur and the rollout of hydrogen trucks, the government appears to be moving hydrogen from demonstration to deployment in heavy transport -- a segment considered critical for India's net-zero and energy security goals. (ANI)
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