Green Hydrogen buses run on Ladakh roads to benefit Himalayan ecology

Union Minister of Power, Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Manohar Lal Khattar flagged off the green hydrogen buses built by NTPC in Ladakh and visiting the waste-to-art sculpture site in Leh. He was on a three-day visit to the Union Territory.

On the final day of his tour, Khattar flagged off NTPC’s green hydrogen fuel cell buses, part of the Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh. This initiative, situated at an altitude of 3,650 meters above sea level, is the world’s highest green hydrogen mobility project. Following the flag-off, Khattar traveled 12 kilometers in one of the hydrogen-powered buses from the H2 fueling station to Leh airport.

NTPC carried out trail runs of the green hydrogen run buses in Leh in August last year.

Khattar, on his maiden visit to Ladakh since assuming office, arrived in Leh, met with the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh and senior officials of the Ladakh administration to review various projects and initiatives under his ministry.

He commended NTPC for its pivotal role in enhancing the country’s energy security and advancing decarbonization through hydrogen technologies in areas such as mobility, PNG blending, green methanol, and renewable energy expansion.

Khattar also inaugurated NTPC’s Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh, which includes a hydrogen fueling station, a 1.7 MW solar power plant, and five hydrogen fuel cell buses operating at an altitude of 11,562 feet. This project marks India’s first deployment of hydrogen buses for public use. The initiative is expected to offset approximately 350 metric tons of carbon emissions annually while contributing 230 metric tons of pure oxygen to the atmosphere, equivalent to planting around 13,000 trees. NTPC aims to achieve 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032 and strengthen its leadership in green hydrogen and energy storage technologies.

Earlier in this visit, Khattar toured the waste-to-art sculpture site in Leh. The sculptures, crafted from discarded materials, were created and showcased during the Y-20 Summit in 2023.

NTPC is committed to achieve 60 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by 2032 and be a major player in Green Hydrogen Technology and Energy Storage domain. The company is taking up several initiatives towards decarbonization such as Hydrogen blending, Carbon Capture, EV buses, Smart NTPC Townships etc.