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Globally, countries are increasingly adopting policies to increase the pace of transition toward zero emission. Governments are evaluating different pathways to achieve carbon neutrality, and investments, and activities in the energy sector are directed around it. Commercial vehicles currently are among the major carbon emitters, with very high per-unit emission rate and, hence, take a sizable focus in the regulatory authority’s purview for a faster and smooth transition. Countries all over the world are taking important and organized steps to curb carbon emissions in the direction of transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy, and this is reflecting in the high standards of permissible automotive emission limits and the continual increase of stringency levels in the last few years. As the room for improvement of diesel powertrain performance narrows, OEMs are forced to invest hugely into vehicle technology and development of alternative powertrain solutions. Battery electric and fuel cell electric powertrains are the two major verticals of development for manufacturers globally for all mobility applications.

Hydrogen is emerging as a key source of energy to better manage and store the excess electricity generated through sustainable power generation methods such as solar and wind. Currently, almost all global hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. Green hydrogen is a long-term alternative that generates hydrogen only through renewable resources with zero emission. Green hydrogen has very high societal acceptance and is recognized as the best potential pathway to sustainable energy and zero-emission power utilization in hydrogen energy scenarios, but it remains costly at present.

Conventional technologies with Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization (CCSU) will remain the short-to-medium term production pathway due to relative cost advantages. Investments and activities to explore low or zero carbon emission hydrogen production will be highly consequential and have an impact on the realization of hydrogen ambitions and also influence timely market absorption. The global trend observed is the exponential increase in year-on-year budget for hydrogen research, production, and application as countries recognize hydrogen as potential pathway for carbon neutrality. Cost competitiveness will determine the degree to which hydrogen will play a role in driving the trend forward. Cost-effective, low-carbon production is the primary target of most countries.