New Delhi: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation launched a hydrogen-powered shuttle bus service in Delhi’s Central Vista area Friday, which will run between government housing colonies in the area to nearby metro stations.
The initiative is in tune with the government’s larger National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), under which five pilot projects were sanctioned to test green hydrogen buses on 10 routes across the country. Trials have begun in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Odisha, and Ladakh.
The recent initiative in Delhi is a collaboration between the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, and the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, ANI reported.
IOCL is set to provide two hydrogen-fuelled buses with a seating capacity of 35 passengers to the DMRC. The buses will be equipped with GPS-tracking and CCTV systems for real-time monitoring, safety, and ensuring punctuality. The shuttle service will be available from Monday to Friday during peak office hours from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
The buses will run on green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy. Electricity from solar panels or wind turbines is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis.
The NGHM mission
In August 2025, the minister of state for new and renewable energy and power, Shripad Yesso Naik, had responded to questions by Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma regarding the implementation of hydrogen buses.
Naik clarified that 37 vehicles, including buses and trucks, and nine hydrogen refuelling stations, had been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 207.91 crore for conducting trials for 18 to 24 months.
Here are the 10 routes under the project:
- Greater Noida – Delhi – Agra
- Bhubaneshwar – Konark – Puri
- Ahmedabad – Vadodara – Surat
- Sahibabad – Faridabad – Delhi
- Pune – Mumbai
- Jamshedpur – Kalinga Nagar
- Thiruvananthapuram – Kochi
- Kochi – Edappally
- Jamnagar – Ahmedabad
- NH – 16 Visakhapatnam – Bayyavaram
The nine refuelling stations were to be set up in Greater Noida, Bhubaneshwar, Balasore, Mumbai highway, Trivandrum, Kochi, near Rajkot, near Vadodara, and Bayyavaram.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
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