NEW DELHI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said hydrogen will play a defining role in the future of transportation, with the government already conducting pilot projects on 10 highway corridors to test hydrogen-powered mobility solutions.The ongoing trials are being carried out on the Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Pune-Mumbai, Jamshedpur-Kalinga Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Kochi-Edappally, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad and NH-16 Visakhapatnam-Bayyavaram routes.Addressing the Prawaas 5.0 and Bharat Prawaas Awards event in Gandhinagar, Gadkari said the government’s hydrogen initiative was part of a broader push towards cleaner mobility.“Our ministry is doing a pilot project on ten routes for hydrogen trials. I am sure the future of the transportation industry is hydrogen, and hydrogen is the fuel of the future, and we are working on that,” Gadkari was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.The minister said India’s automobile industry was making significant progress in developing alternative fuel and biofuel technologies and expressed confidence that the country would emerge as a global leader in both innovation and cost competitiveness.He also urged vehicle manufacturers and transport operators to focus on improving passenger comfort by adopting advanced technologies while ensuring affordability.“The initiatives taken by the automobile industry in developing buses are very important, and manufacturers and transporters should think about having good, comfortable transport from a technological point of view with world-standard technology. The duty of our manufacturers is to give more comfort with reasonable economic value,” he said.Highlighting road safety as another major priority, Gadkari said India records nearly five lakh road accidents every year, resulting in around 1.8 lakh deaths. He noted that nearly 66 per cent of those killed are between 18 and 36 years of age, while road accidents also account for an estimated 3 per cent loss to the country’s GDP.“It (accidents) also causes 3 per cent GDP loss. So we need your help in preventing these accidents. Therefore, road safety is the highest priority for the government…Our industry is doing an excellent job from the safety and technology point of view. And that is the reason that our two-wheeler manufacturers in India are able to sell 50 per cent of products abroad,” he said.Gadkari said the Indian automobile sector has expanded from Rs 14 lakh crore when he assumed office to Rs 22 lakh crore, rising from the world’s seventh-largest to the third-largest automobile industry. He said the government’s goal is to make India the global leader in the sector.“Our ambition is to reach the first spot soon. This industry gives the highest revenue to the state and central governments, and has created 4.5 crore jobs. We have naturally made many improvements in automobile engineering, and the industry has cooperated with us,” he said.The Centre has been promoting alternative fuels to reduce dependence on imported crude oil and strengthen the country’s energy security.Separately, Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the government is currently testing E25, petrol blended with 25 per cent ethanol, but clarified that no decision has been taken on introducing the fuel commercially.“We have not even decided on it and E25 is only being tested now,” he said, adding that there is no fixed timeline for the testing process. Puri said the government would complete scientific studies and consult all stakeholders before taking any decision on its rollout.Speaking to the TOI, Gadkari said decisions on fuel policy rest with the petroleum ministry while reiterating his support for offering consumers multiple alternative fuel options.“Ethanol has a lower calorific value and has a minor impact on mileage. But that also depends on road and traffic conditions. I have always maintained that people should have a choice of alternative fuels available in different regions. For example, if a region has availability of methanol, which is cost-effective, people can opt for it. People can go for flex-fuel vehicles where higher blends of ethanol are available,” he said.Puri also said Gadkari had invited anyone claiming engine damage due to ethanol-blended fuel to approach him directly. He added that investigations into previous complaints had found reasons other than the fuel itself to be responsible for the reported engine problems.
