Hydrogen and green fuel will be India’s future fuel: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for road trasport and highways Nitin Gadkari has been known for his keen focus on greener powertrain and fuel solutions. He reiterated that claiming that hydrogen and green fuel will be India's future. At an event, the union minister said that Indian farmers would soon be able to produce green fuel and green hydrogen in the country, which would save India from spending around ₹16 lakh crore every year, spent on importing fuel.

Gadkari further stated that India would certainly shift to electric vehicles in the coming years. However, the minister didn't give any specific timeline for that shift, unlike before when the government set a deadline to meet the EV-only transportation from 2030. “We import ₹16 lakh crore worth of fossil fuel every year, but pretty soon, our farmers will produce green fuel and green hydrogen," he said, adding that lithium-ion batteries will lead the shift from the current range of petrol and diesel-driven cars.

Gadkari's comment comes at a time when the Indian government has been increasingly emphasising on greener fuel solutions like lithium-ion electric batteries, hydrogen, ethanol mixed petrol etc. While the intention to shift towards greener mobility remains the same, the high cost of the new energy vehicles remains a challenge for mass adoption. For example, if a petrol-driven car costs ₹6 lakh, the battery-driven electric version of the same car costs more than ₹10 lakh, which makes it too costly for the buyers, who finally resort to purchasing ICE-driven vehicles. Speaking about that, the minister reiterated that lithium-ion battery costs would come down in the next year or so, which would help in bringing down the costs of electric vehicles.

The minister is also hopeful that India will soon become a net exporter of Lithium and become a significant global player, owing to the discovery of the large lithium deposit in India just a few weeks ago.