Odisha Invests ₹53.55 Crore in Green Hydrogen Bus Project

04 Jun 2026, 06:30 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Odisha is pushing ahead with its plan to launch hydrogen-powered public transport, following a high-level review on June 3, 2026. Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, led the meeting, during which leaders reviewed the Green Hydrogen Mobility Project. The goal here is to build Odisha’s first green hydrogen ecosystem for urban mobility—following the tripartite MoU agreed upon in December 2024. Padhee has told all involved agencies to iron out the remaining technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles fast, so the project stays on schedule.

Three major organizations—CRUT, NTPC, and GRIDCO—are dividing the work. The agreement is already in action as the Odisha government has provided land for the facility, NTPC will handle the hydrogen production and refueling systems, and GRIDCO will supply electricity and manage subsidies and incentives. CRUT, which runs more than 560 buses on 106 routes in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur, and Berhampur (including 290 electric buses), will run the actual bus operations and manage transit services.

The new green hydrogen facility is going up at CRUT’s Pokhariput depot in Bhubaneswar. It’s designed to produce about 260 kg of clean hydrogen per day, enough for a pilot run with three highly efficient hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. The buses are expected to hit the roads within a few months, right after the depot is ready. The pilot routes will focus first on the busy commercial and tourist corridor from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, and Konark. It’s a proof-of-concept—if it works here, it’ll work anywhere in the state.

Bringing this project to life will cost ₹53.55 crore. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has already cleared ₹19.52 crore in funding and support through the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The rest comes from participating stakeholder agencies and state support. With this setup, Odisha joins New Delhi and Ladakh as an early mover in India’s push for hydrogen-powered transit.

On the technology side, these hydrogen buses are built to significantly outperform. They can run up to 600 kilometers a day under the right conditions—much better than standard battery-electric buses—and refueling just takes a few minutes, so there’s no long downtime. They’re also clean, they only emit water vapor. Officials say this first phase is expected to prevent almost 900 tons of CO2 from polluting the air each year, a big boost for urban air quality and another step toward making Odisha a major center for green hydrogen and green ammonia production.