Tamil Nadu: Design of Hyundai HTWO Innovation Centre unveiled

Chennai: Hyundai Motor India Limited, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), and Guidance Tamil Nadu on Tuesday unveiled the design of the Hyundai HTWO Innovation Centre, a state-of-the-art research and development hub which is likely to be a catalyst for innovation in the field of green hydrogen technology and its ecosystem.

The centre spread across a sprawling 65,000 square feet area at the IIT-M’s Thaiyur campus, about 45 km from Chennai, is part of Hyundai India’s Rs 100 crore commitment to pioneering green hydrogen innovation in India.

The development of digital twins of hydrogen infrastructure, along with customized test rigs and fabrication lines, will contribute to the pilot-level evaluation of electrolyzers and fuel cells. The centre will also host test zones for containerised pilot demonstrators for industrial-scale products.

Tamil Nadu Industries Minister T R B Raaja, who unveiled the design, said he would want to see the state emerging as the R & D capital of not just India but of Asia. “It is definitely possible and I do not think we should go back to tech, which has already been conquered. We should leapfrog into the future and try to solve those problems…I would love to see more policy schools coming up at IIT Madras,” he added.

Tamil Nadu has been projecting itself as an hub for green hydrogen sector with Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries already agreeing to invest Rs 36,238 crore for setting up a green hydrogen and green ammonia production unit in Thoothukudi district.

“We are the auto capital, We are the electronics capital, and tech capital, mainly because of the talent that we have and because of the distributed growth and the way our people embrace education. That is what IIT-M is all about, celebrating human capital and how people can be the changemakers for a particular place on this amazing planet,” he added.

HMIL Managing Director Unsoo Kim said through the new centre, the company aims to foster an open platform for knowledge exchange by facilitating collaboration between global expertise and the local green hydrogen ecosystem.

“This initiative demonstrates our commitment to ‘Make in India’ by empowering local innovation, nurturing talent, and supporting the development of scalable, affordable, and sustainable hydrogen solutions,” he added.

IIT-M Director Prof V Kamakoti said the Centre will work with all the stakeholders of the hydrogen sector at the global level including academia, national R&D laboratories, industries and policymakers.

“This will make India Atmanirbhar Bharat in the hydrogen sector. It will greatly contribute to sustainability and provide a boost to the nation’s decarbonization initiatives that target Net Zero by 2070. This Centre can accelerate the efforts to achieve these targets,” Kamakoti added.