The 300kW electrolyser at Manesar turns idle solar into hydrogen, a step that could power future cars. It’s a pilot that shows how a small plant can turn otherwise wasted energy into a clean fuel.
But the plant isn’t just a demo – hydrogen is blended with natural gas and fed into the factory’s process lines, cutting emissions from the very place the cars are made.
NewparA The plant operates on surplus solar generated during holidays, so the factory never pays extra for electricity it could otherwise have stored. That surplus is fed into the electrolyser, producing hydrogen that is compressed, stored, and later mixed with natural gas.
Yet Maruti isn’t stopping at Manesar. The company is rolling the same 300kW design out to its Haryana and Gujarat plants, and it already runs a 10‑tonne‑per‑day biogas unit at Kharkhoda. It’s a multi‑tech push that also includes a 1‑MWh battery storage system.
The move lines up neatly with the government’s Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims for 10,000 MW of green hydrogen capacity by 2030. For buyers, it means the automaker could offer hydrogen‑fuel options that are cheaper to run than diesel or battery‑electric cars, especially as the plant scales.
The plant was commissioned in early 2024 and is already contributing to Maruti’s target of cutting its manufacturing carbon footprint from 615,000 tonnes to 266,000 tonnes by FY2030‑31. The next step? Scaling the technology across more sites by FY2026‑27 and integrating it into the supply chain for future EV models.
The real takeaway for the market is clear: Maruti is building the infrastructure that could make hydrogen a viable, low‑cost alternative for Indian users, paving the way for cheaper, cleaner driving options in the coming years.