Green hydrogen will soon be available as an alternative fuel to power India’s growth story, said Union Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, adding that the Modi government also aims to export the fuel to the world.
Gadkari, who owns India’s first green hydrogen-powered car, made the claims at the Aadhar Infra Confluence in Delhi on Wednesday. He was speaking about the government’s plans regarding developing a hydrogen infrastructure in India.
“I should have come in my hydrogen car today, I came by electric. I own the first hydrogen car in the country. It is called Mirai, it is a Japanese word which means future,” said Gadkari.
He emphasized the need for futuristic planning to develop India as a global exporter. “Futuristic tech vision and planning are very important. We are energy importers today, but futuristic planning should be to export energy like we are importing petrol, diesel, and gas. We will be exporting hydrogen soon.”
Describing the futuristic vision, Gadkari spoke about transferring the energy reliance and shifting heavy industries to hydrogen. “Steel, chemical and pharmaceutical industries will run on hydrogen. Cars, trucks, buses and even aeroplanes will work on hydrogen,” he asserted.
While everyone was intrigued by the concept of hydrogen-run industries and vehicles, Gadkari mentioned that the hydrogen for these ambitious projects will be manufactured by the farmers. “This hydrogen will be made by our farmers by installing solar panels in their rooftop solar godowns. We are the number one in electrolyser manufacturing, and that will help in extracting hydrogen out of water,” he said.
The union minister envisioned an India which will replace the global fuel exporters Saudi Arabia and UAE by exporting surplus hydrogen. “Our vehicles will run on hydrogen, and surplus hydrogen will be exported to the world, like Saudi Arabia or UAE export petroleum right now. We will become a hydrogen exporting nation,” he remarked.
