New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday launched India's first "hydrogen highways", accelerating the country's green hydrogen initiatives. 

The project involves setting up hydrogen fuelling stations along strategic national highway corridors to support long-haul hydrogen-powered freight.

"Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. We have now launched the world's first large-scale hydrogen truck trials. A budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore has been sanctioned to five consortiums across ten routes, with 37 vehicles participating," Gadkari said at the event.

"Nine hydrogen refuelling stations will be established to support these trials. These corridors will serve as India's first hydrogen highways, creating the ecosystem for clean, long-haul mobility," he added.

He highlighted that India should urgently reduce its dependence on crude imports, currently at 87 per cent of demand and costing the nation nearly Rs 22 lakh crore annually.

The launch was done at the inaugural World Hydrogen India summit hosted by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

To build a sustainable hydrogen ecosystem, policymakers, industry leaders, and global experts discussed regulatory frameworks, financing models, and trade corridors at the event.

The discussions explored how chemical companies can leverage hydrogen for cleaner production processes, adopt emerging innovations, and implement strategies for sustainable industrial transformation.

Further, policymakers and experts discussed pathways for replacing grey hydrogen in fertiliser production with green alternatives. The panel assessed economic viability, collaboration models, and supply chain partnerships needed to secure green hydrogen for ammonia and urea manufacturing.

Shushil Kumar Singh, Chairman, Mumbai Port Authority & Deendayal Port Authority, discussed the importance of international certification requirements, the development of dedicated shipping corridors and logistics infrastructure, and strategies to align India’s hydrogen exports with global cost and quality standards.

(IANS)