A truck running on hydrogen instead of diesel rolled onto the stage at India Energy Week in Bengaluru this week, according to blog.trucksuvidha.com. The vehicle, built by Ashok Leyland and displayed by Reliance Industries, was promoted as the country's first H2ICE technology truck on the road, with performance that the company says is on par with a conventional diesel engine.
The pitch is simple: keep the diesel drivetrain, swap the fuel, and cut emissions to almost nothing. For anyone watching the alternative-fuel race in trucking, this is the kind of practical bridge technology that tends to get people arguing at trade shows.
The short version
- Reliance Industries showed an Ashok Leyland hydrogen-powered truck at India Energy Week in Bengaluru.
- The display described the vehicle as "India's 1st H2ICE technology truck on road."
- Reliance says hydrogen use delivers about 20 percent savings in fuel operating expenses versus diesel.
- The truck is also claimed to run more quietly than a standard diesel engine.
- Performance is described as on par with diesel, with near-zero tailpipe emissions.
How we got here: the slow build toward hydrogen trucks
Hydrogen as a transport fuel is not a new idea, but the cost of producing it has kept it on the sidelines for decades. Most hydrogen today is made from natural gas, which is cheap and dirty. The version the industry is excited about is green hydrogen, produced by splitting water with electricity from solar, wind or other renewables. That is why the same names building big renewable-energy portfolios are also the ones pushing hydrogen vehicles.
In India, two conglomerates are doing most of the heavy lifting on this front. Reliance has been talking about green energy investments since 2021, including renewables, storage and a goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2035. The Adani Group, meanwhile, has already moved from press release to pilot. In January, blog.trucksuvidha.com reported that Adani Enterprises signed an agreement with Ashok Leyland and Canada's Ballard Power to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell truck for mining logistics. That pilot vehicle was described as a 55-ton truck with three hydrogen tanks, a roughly 200-kilometre working range, and a 120 kW PEM fuel cell.
So when Reliance unveiled its own truck at the same venue, it was less a surprise and more a signal that hydrogen has moved from PowerPoint to the show floor.
What changed now: a working truck, not a concept
The interesting part of the Reliance unveiling is not the existence of a hydrogen vehicle, but the type of hydrogen vehicle. H2ICE stands for hydrogen internal combustion engine. Instead of a fuel cell that turns hydrogen into electricity, this truck burns hydrogen directly in a modified combustion engine, much like diesel. The display also claimed fuel cost savings of around 20 percent over diesel, along with quieter operation.
This matters because fuel-cell trucks need expensive platinum-group catalysts and a full electric drivetrain. An H2ICE truck can lean on the existing engine supply chain, which is exactly what the Ashok Leyland–Reliance partnership seems to be betting on. You keep the familiar maintenance regime, the familiar service network, and the familiar sound of a truck, minus the carbon.
Who is affected and what it means for you
Right now, this is very much an India story. The trucks, the supply chain, the refuelling plans, and the policy push are all centred on Indian industrial corridors, mining sites, and ports. But the ripple effect reaches anyone in the broader freight industry who is sizing up their own decarbonisation roadmap.
For fleet operators, the key question is not whether hydrogen will work, but when it will pencil out. Today, the answer is only for specific duty cycles: short-haul mining routes, port drayage, dedicated corridors with predictable mileage. Long-haul over-the-road trucking still belongs to diesel, LNG, and battery-electric, depending on the region.
Say you run a fleet moving containers from a port to an inland depot at about 150 kilometres a day. A battery truck might struggle with payload and charging windows, and diesel is under political pressure. A hydrogen truck with a 200-kilometre range starts to look interesting, especially if a refuelling station sits inside the port gate. That is the kind of niche where the Reliance and Adani pilots will either prove the concept or expose the weak spots.
Our analysis
What stands out is the speed at which two of India's largest conglomerates have moved from green-energy press releases to actual truck chassis on display. Adani has a fuel-cell pilot with Ballard, Reliance has an H2ICE demonstrator with Ashok Leyland, and both are pouring billions into renewable generation to feed their own electrolyser projects. In effect, they are trying to control the full stack: power, hydrogen production, vehicle, and end-use site.
The trade-off is real, though. Green hydrogen still costs several times more per kilogram than diesel on an energy-equivalent basis. Reliance is betting that scale and captive offtake will close that gap. Fleet operators should treat any "20 percent savings" claim with care, because that number depends heavily on the price of diesel in a given market, the source of the hydrogen, and whether the refuelling infrastructure is subsidised.
Who benefits first? Operators tied to mining, steel, or port logistics, where distance is short and payload matters more than top speed. Who loses? Diesel-only service networks that have not started diversifying their fuel mix at all.
What to watch next
Keep an eye on three things over the next twelve months. First, does Reliance announce a refuelling partner or a captive hydrogen plant for its truck pilots? Second, what range and payload figures come out of the Adani–Ashok Leyland–Ballard fuel-cell pilot, since that will set the benchmark for the technology Reliance is sidestepping. Third, whether India's regulators extend subsidies for green hydrogen beyond the current production target of five million tonnes by 2030.
For now, the safe read is this: hydrogen trucks in India are no longer a thought experiment, but they are still a science project with a corporate budget. Watch the data, not the launch event.
Key takeaways
- Hydrogen trucks are moving from concept to pilot in India, led by Reliance and Adani with Ashok Leyland as the common vehicle partner.
- H2ICE technology aims to deliver diesel-like performance with near-zero emissions, which could shorten the path to fleet decarbonisation.
- Real-world economics still depend on green hydrogen cost, diesel prices, and where refuelling infrastructure actually gets built.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly did Reliance show at India Energy Week?
According to blog.trucksuvidha.com, Reliance displayed an Ashok Leyland truck running on hydrogen, billed as India's first H2ICE technology truck on the road, with performance said to be on par with a diesel engine.
How is this truck different from a hydrogen fuel-cell truck?
This truck burns hydrogen directly in an internal combustion engine (H2ICE), rather than using a fuel cell to convert hydrogen into electricity for an electric motor, as planned in the Adani–Ballard pilot.
What savings is Reliance claiming over conventional diesel trucks?
Reliance's display claimed about 20 percent lower fuel operating expenses compared with diesel ICE vehicles, along with quieter running, according to blog.trucksuvidha.com.
Why are Indian conglomerates investing so heavily in hydrogen?
Both Reliance and Adani are building large renewable-energy portfolios, and green hydrogen produced from that renewable power fits their broader decarbonisation and net-zero goals.
Is hydrogen trucking relevant outside India yet?
For most global fleets, hydrogen trucks remain a niche option suited to short, predictable routes such as mining and port logistics, with broader adoption dependent on cheaper green hydrogen and wider refuelling networks.