Hydrogen trucking for India: economics, opportunities, and way forward

The document evaluates the feasibility of fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs) and hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks in India. It finds that while FCETs could be more cost-competitive than diesel trucks in long-haul, heavy-duty applications by 2040, they currently struggle to reach cost parity with battery electric trucks (BETs) due to high hydrogen fuel costs. These costs are driven by production, refueling infrastructure, and an 18% GST. The brief argues that hydrogen trucks are a critical complement to BETs for use cases requiring high payload and minimal downtime. It recommends a coordinated pathway involving capital subsidies, tax rationalization (reducing GST to 5%), and the development of public hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) to unlock the market.

• Fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs) are projected to become more cost-competitive than diesel trucks by 2040, particularly for 55-ton long-haul heavy-duty applications, though they are unlikely to reach cost parity with battery electric trucks (BETs) without significant reductions in fuel costs.
• The high total cost of ownership (TCO) for hydrogen trucks is primarily driven by the price of hydrogen, which is influenced by production costs, refueling infrastructure, and an 18% goods and services tax (GST).
• Hydrogen trucks offer operational advantages over BETs, specifically shorter refueling times and higher payload capacity, as they do not require the large, heavy battery packs that can reduce revenue for fully loaded applications.
• LNG trucks currently have the lowest TCO among the analyzed technologies due to lower fuel costs, but they only reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by 5% to 10% compared to diesel and risk creating a technology lock-in that delays the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.
• To achieve cost parity between FCETs and BETs by 2030, hydrogen prices would need to drop to between INR 300/kg and INR 400/kg, which is approximately half of current projected prices.
• Centralized hydrogen production using grid electricity and pipeline transport is found to be more expensive than off-grid, on-site solar hydrogen production due to higher electricity costs and additional transport expenses.

APA

RMI (2026). Hydrogen trucking for India: economics, opportunities, and way forward. https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-trucking-for-india-economics-opportunities-and-way-forward/

Chicago

RMI. Hydrogen trucking for India: economics, opportunities, and way forward. 2026. https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-trucking-for-india-economics-opportunities-and-way-forward/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Hydrogen trucking for India: economics, opportunities, and way forward |date=6 February 2026 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-trucking-for-india-economics-opportunities-and-way-forward/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2026hydrogen, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Hydrogen trucking for India: economics, opportunities, and way forward}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/hydrogen-trucking-for-india-economics-opportunities-and-way-forward/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }