Maruti Suzuki Turns Surplus Solar Into Green Hydrogen at Manesar
Maruti Suzuki has commissioned a 300 kW electrolyser at Manesar that uses surplus solar power to make green hydrogen, which is blended with natural gas as process fuel. The pilot could be scaled across its Haryana and Gujarat plants.
India's largest carmaker has started making its own green hydrogen. Maruti Suzuki India said on 24 September 2026 that it has commissioned a 300 kW green hydrogen electrolyser plant at its Manesar manufacturing facility in Haryana — the company's first such installation.
It is a pilot, not a gigawatt-scale project. But it is one of the more practical examples yet of an Indian manufacturer using hydrogen where it is often argued to make the most sense: replacing fossil fuel in industrial heat, rather than in vehicles.
How the Manesar plant works
The design is built around a problem many factories with rooftop or on-site solar share: surplus electricity at times when the plant does not need it.
- The electrolyser runs on surplus solar power generated at the Manesar site — for example, power produced on holidays, when factory demand is low and the energy would otherwise go unused.
- That electricity splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is stored for later use.
- The stored hydrogen is blended with natural gas and used as process fuel in manufacturing operations.
In effect, the plant turns otherwise wasted solar output into a storable fuel that displaces part of the natural gas the factory burns. Maruti has not disclosed the electrolyser technology supplier.
What the company said
Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi positioned the project as part of a broader clean-energy mix: "Just like we have adopted a multi-pathway approach for products, we have also embarked on a journey of multiple renewable energy solutions for manufacturing operations. The commissioning of our 300 kW Green Hydrogen plant is aligned with the Government of India's Green Hydrogen Mission. This, along with expansion of solar, biogas and installation of battery energy storage system reflects our commitment to transition to cleaner and sustainable energy solutions."
The company says learnings from the pilot will shape plans to scale green hydrogen across its manufacturing facilities in Haryana and Gujarat. It also restated its target to cut the carbon footprint of its manufacturing operations from about 6.15 lakh tonnes to 2.66 lakh tonnes by FY2030-31.
Why industrial heat is the right test bed
Green hydrogen is expensive, and debates over where it should be used are intense. Passenger cars are increasingly going battery-electric; hydrogen's stronger case lies in sectors that are hard to electrify, including high-temperature process heat, refining, fertilisers and steel.
Car manufacturing uses significant process heat, much of which typically comes from natural gas. Blending hydrogen into that gas stream is a low-risk way for a manufacturer to learn how to produce, store and safely handle hydrogen on a working factory floor, without redesigning its entire energy system.
The use of surplus solar also sidesteps one of green hydrogen's biggest cost drivers: the price of electricity. Power that would otherwise be curtailed is effectively free at the margin, which improves the economics of a small electrolyser even at low utilisation.
The national context
India's National Green Hydrogen Mission targets 5 million tonnes a year of green hydrogen production by 2030, backed by incentives for electrolyser manufacturing and hydrogen production. Most of the attention has gone to large refinery, ammonia and export-oriented projects. Distributed, captive pilots like Maruti's are a different but complementary track: they build operating experience inside mainstream manufacturing companies and create early demand for domestically made electrolysers.
At 300 kW, Manesar will not move national numbers. Its value lies in whether it produces a replicable template — and whether India's largest automaker decides, on the evidence, to roll it out across its plants.
Sources
- Maruti Suzuki press release — Maruti Suzuki commissions its first green hydrogen plant at its Manesar facility in Haryana: https://www.marutisuzuki.com/corporate/media/press-releases/2026/september/maruti-suzuki-commissions-its-first-green-hydrogen-plant-at-its-manesar-facility-in-haryana
- BusinessToday — Maruti Suzuki commissions 300 kW green hydrogen plant at Manesar: https://www.businesstoday.in/auto/story/maruti-suzuki-commissions-300-kw-green-hydrogen-plant-at-manesar-557510-2026-09-24
- Autocar Professional — Maruti Suzuki Commissions 300kW Green Hydrogen Plant In Haryana: https://www.autocarpro.in/news/maruti-suzuki-commissions-300kw-green-hydrogen-plant-in-haryana-134882
- Outlook Business — Maruti Suzuki Commissions Its First Green Hydrogen Plant At Manesar Facility: https://www.outlookbusiness.com/corporate/maruti-suzuki-commissions-its-first-green-hydrogen-plant-at-manesar-facility
- Mercom India — Maruti Suzuki commissions 300 kW green hydrogen plant in Haryana: https://www.mercomindia.com/maruti-suzuki-commissions-300-kw-green-hydrogen-plant-in-haryana
- SolarQuarter — Maruti Suzuki commissions 300 kW green hydrogen electrolyzer plant at Manesar: https://solarquarter.com/2026/09/25/maruti-suzuki-commissions-300-kw-green-hydrogen-electrolyzer-plant-at-manesar/