JAPANESE CARMAKER TOYOTA and the International Centre for Automotive Technology started a pilot project a year ago to test the Mirai, a mid-size sedan powered by hydrogen fuel cells, for the Indian roads and climate. The project was launched by Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport and highways. Gadkari has been riding the car for a while now and is convinced that “hydrogen car is the future of this country”. Within a year, he feels, India will have cars, buses and trucks running on green hydrogen.
Gadkari’s colleague, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, is also confident of getting hydrogen-powered trains to India in 2023. The Railways had invited bids a year ago for hydrogen fuel cell trains and, initially, two diesel-electric trains will be converted to operate on green hydrogen fuel cells in the Jind-Sonipat section in Haryana.
India might have just started…