State Budget: Kerala to be Home to Hydrogen Train, EV Industrial Park

Kerala to Welcome Special Zone for Electric Vehicle Industry

Presented by Finance Minister of K.N. Balagopal, the Budget made significant announcements on renewable energy, Green Hydrogen and electric vehicles.

The Budget sets sights on initiatives for the establishment of green hydrogen hubs in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The timeline for the achievement of these is over the next two years.

An outlay of Rs 200 crore towards Viability Gap Funding for green hydrogen hubs has also been announced among the slew of announcements. An additional Rs 20 crore has been set aside towards this goal too.

The minister revealed that Kerala eyes the target of becoming 100% dependent on renewable energy by 2040. By 2050, it is looking to become a net carbon neutrality State. He further added that Green hydrogen that is produced with the employment of renewable energy contributes to an eco-friendly system. He concluded that hydrogen fuel can be used in long-haul vehicles as well as ships, bringing down carbon emission rather significantly. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that Kerala will host a hydrogen train by December 2023.

In another major announcement that, the it was shared during the Budgetary session that an electric vehicle (EV) industrial park will be set up. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) will lend its support to it. In addition to this, Rs 25 crore has also been set aside for the EV consortium project, which will include TTPL, VSSC, C-DAC and TrEST. This consortium has been created in Kerala for EV-related initiatives. Kerala will be home to an EV drive train testing lab. Set to be operational by July 2023, the facility will be established under the aegis of the (Trivandrum Engineering Science and Technology) TrEST park.

Kerala is striving towards encouraging renewable energy and its adoption. In an announcement that might set a precedent for other Indian states to follow, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is to install rooftop solar power plants for 800 homes in Kerala.