HMIL to set up hydrogen R&D centre at IIT Madras

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) has unveiled the design for the Hyundai HTWO Innovation Centre, a green hydrogen R&D facility in Tamil Nadu. The facility, which will be operational by 2026, will be located at IIT Madras’ Discovery Satellite Campus in Thaiyur, Chennai.

Hyundai Motor India, in collaboration with IIT Madras and Guidance Tamil Nadu, has unveiled the design for the Hyundai HTWO Innovation Centre, a green hydrogen R&D facility. TRB Rajaa, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion & Commerce, presented the design.

The initiative is a strategic agreement signed at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet in January 2024. HMIL and its CSR arm, Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF), have committed ₹100 crore, with the project’s total cost estimated at ₹180 crore. The facility, set to be operational by 2026, will be situated at IIT Madras’ Discovery Satellite Campus in Thaiyur, Chennai, covering 65,000 sq. ft.

It will house high-tech labs for computational and experimental hydrogen research, pilot-scale evaluations of electrolysers and fuel cells, and demonstration zones for industrial hydrogen applications.

According to Prof. V. Kamakoti, IIT Madras Director, HMIL MD Unsoo Kim noted it will enable “global-local collaboration” and boost clean energy innovation. Its role in fostering decarbonisation, energy independence, and hydrogen workforce development is aligned with India’s 2070 net-zero goal.