Gurgaon: Maruti Suzuki has installed a 300-kW green hydrogen plant at its Manesar facility as part of a pilot project. The pilot aims to utilise excess solar power generated at the plant to produce hydrogen, which will then be stored and used as fuel in manufacturing.The pilot is designed around a simple energy loop. Solar power generated during working days will meet the plant’s operational needs, while surplus generation when the plant is not operating will be diverted to an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen. The hydrogen will be stored and subsequently blended with natural gas for use as process fuel in manufacturing processes.The project seeks to address a key challenge in industrial decarbonisation (the process of transitioning to near‑zero greenhouse gas emissions): renewable electricity can replace conventional power, but manufacturing processes that require fuel may continue to depend on conventional sources. By converting surplus renewable electricity into hydrogen, the pilot aims to create an additional low-carbon fuel for such processes.Maruti Suzuki said the pilot will also help assess the feasibility of scaling up green hydrogen across its manufacturing facilities in Haryana and Gujarat.The project is part of the automaker’s broader efforts to reduce emissions from its manufacturing operations. The company aims to bring manufacturing-related carbon emissions down from 615,000 tonnes currently to 266,000 tonnes in FY31.Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said the company was pursuing multiple renewable-energy solutions for manufacturing and linked the green hydrogen project to the Centre’s green hydrogen mission. “Manufacturing competitiveness could increasingly depend not only on cost and quality but also on the carbon intensity of production,” he said.Green hydrogen is one of several alternatives being explored by the company. Maruti is also expanding solar power, procuring renewable electricity through govt sources and third-party solar and wind power purchase agreements, and investing in biogas and battery storage.At its Kharkhoda plant, the company is in the advanced stages of setting up a 10-tonne-per-day biogas plant, scheduled for commissioning in FY27. It has also commissioned a 1 MWh battery energy storage system and started using compressed biogas as process fuel.The company’s board has approved four compressed biogas projects with an allocation of Rs 561 crore, indicating that it is pursuing multiple alternatives to conventional fuels rather than depending on a single technology.
