Auto Expo 2023: Nitin Gadkari bats for green hydrogen export and more safety features in vehicles

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari made a number of key announcements at the 2023 Auto Expo held in Greater Noida on January 12. Reiterating India’s potential to become an exporter of energy, Gadkari focused on India’s Green Hydrogen Mission and the goal of running railways, aircraft and buses on clean fuel. The minister said that research facilitated by the automotive industry could be the key to India becoming an exporter of energy soon.

Gadkari said that India’s commitment towards alternative fuels, ‘needs the leadership that can convert problems into opportunities and not opportunity into problems’. The government recently allocated Rs 20,000 crore under the National Green Hydrogen Mission to build the country’s green hydrogen ecosystem. The goal is to make India a global hub of green hydrogen production, utilisation and export with an annual production of up to 5 million tonnes.

Nitin Gadkari also spoke about road safety in the country and the need for automakers to proactively make vehicles safer. The minister stated that India records 500,000 road accidents and 100,000 related fatalities every year and the ministry aims to reduce this number by at least 50 percent by 2024 end. “I don’t want to make anything mandatory for you. If you can take the decision suo-moto, it will be a matter of great pride and pleasure for all of us.”, Nitin Gadkari told stakeholders at the expo.
Another key point the minister spoke about was India’s position in the global battery supply market. Currently, the export of batteries used in EVs is dominated by China and Malaysia. China exports 85 percent of batteries globally, Malaysia has a 7 percent market share, US, France and others make up the rest 8 percent. Gadkari said that India was close to achieving the target of producing 50 Gigawatt of batteries under the PLI scheme.