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Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Motors and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will be the key bidders for the government’s pilot project for the use of green/grey hydrogen (H2) in the transport sector, according to people who are aware of the development. The initiative is in line with the government’s aim to decarbonise the economy, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and enable India to assume technology and market leadership in green hydrogen.
“The pilot projects will help to identify operational issues (with regards to H2) and gaps in terms of current technology readiness, regulations, implementation methodologies, infrastructure, and supply chains,” stated the revised request for proposal (RFP) document reviewed by ET.
The bid for the INR 496-crore project which opened in February, closes on Thursday. It is part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission which was launched in January 2023 with an outlay of INR 19,744 crore. One of the key criteria from the bidders is participation as a consortium or partners to ensure the entire value chain – from making hydrogen and dispensing it and running vehicles fuelled by hydrogen. The bidding consortium should include a vehicle manufacturer, hydrogen fuel supplier distributor, and other partners as required.
According to industry sources, while Reliance is partnering with bus and truck maker Ashok Leyland and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), Tata Motors is joining hands with IOCL as a consortium. Ashok Leyland is also partnering with NTPC for the same. Queries sent to RIL, NTPC and IOCL remained unanswered till press time.
To be sure, most of the automakers have been running pilots on hydrogen-fuelled trucks and buses for energy companies such as RIL and NTPC for some time now. Spokespersons at Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland were not immediately available for a comment. A DICV spokesperson confirmed that it has given “letter of support” to RIL for the project.
Among the bidders for the tender, RIL-which is also a participant in the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the electrolyzer and green H2, is the only one that can be an end-to-end service provider for the pilot project-from H2 manufacturing and dispensing the fuel to running an H2-powered vehicle.
The oil-to-telecom conglomerate which has been building the new energy business for the past few years, will be a big beneficiary if it wins the bid for the project. It would pave the way for the mass scale hydrogen production in the coming years in line with the government’s intent, said a person familiar with the project.
The H2 corridor project seeks to support the deployment of hydrogen-powered buses, trucks, and cars, in a phased manner on a pilot basis. The winners of technical followed by the commercial bid, will be provided funds to close the viability gap due to the relatively higher capital cost of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the initial years. The learnings from the pilot projects will help inter-city bus and truck operators (including State Transport Undertakings), and private car users in gaining experience with the deployment and usage of hydrogen-powered vehicles and refueling technologies, according to the RFP.
Industry sources added that piloting the project with grey hydrogen will allow companies time to set up the infrastructure and ensure smooth functioning of the same. Grey hydrogen is produced by natural gas or coal.
