In 2020, the Delhi Government had started a pilot project of deploying 50 hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG) buses. The government is now unlikely to go further with this model as the reduction in nitrogen oxide has not been as per expectations and the return on investment is also not commensurate.
Further, scaling up the deployment of HCNG buses has been deemed unfeasible as the government is moving towards electric vehicles. According to the Delhi government’s electric vehicle policy, 50 per cent of the bus fleet has to be electric by 2025.
The city government had started a six-month trial of the HCNG in a fleet of 50 cluster buses with the inauguration of India’s first semi-commercial HCNG plant and dispensing station at the Rajghat depot. The Delhi transport department had provided Rs 150 million for the setting up of the plant and conducting a study on the fuel to ascertain its benefits in terms of economy and emissions.