Motoring Trends reported that Reliance Industries and Daimler India have collaborated to build a hydrogen fuel cell inter-city luxury bus concept. It will be used to conduct an advanced engineering study to explore the viability of hydrogen fuel cell as a propulsion alternative for the future.

The hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technology used on a luxury coach has been developed indigenously by Reliance Industries and is capable of a range of approximately 400 km.

To be deployed to understand the viability of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the inter-city bus segment, which is also termed as the mid-premium segment currently in India and includes modern front-engine 13 m and 12 m long buses such as the BharatBenz 1824 and 1624 respectively, the experimental luxury coach follows the announcement by a heavy-duty hydrogen ICE truck in collaboration with Ashok Leyland.

Touted as India’s first hydrogen-powered truck, the experimental truck was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Energy Week event in Bengaluru in February 2023.

The collaboration of Reliance Industries with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles to develop the fuel cell hydrogen inter-city luxury bus highlights the presence the German CV maker has managed to attain in the mid-premium segment, which is also quite competitive with the presence of manufacturers like Tata Motors, VE Commercial Vehicles, Ashok Leyland and a few others.

The BharatBenz brand of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles is known for its modern engineering attributes, safety, comfort and reliability among bus and truck operators.