TNEA Code: 2764
The Institution of Engineers (India), Coimbatore Local Centre, in association with the Department of Chemical Engineering at KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, successfully organized a technical webinar on the topic “Hydrogen Fuel for Sustainable India: Challenges and Opportunities” on 25th July 2025. The session aimed to create awareness and share expert insights on hydrogen as a promising clean fuel for India’s sustainable energy future.
Dr. J. Krishnamoorthi, Chairman, IEI Coimbatore Local Centre, delivered the welcome address, emphasizing the importance of hydrogen fuel in India’s energy roadmap. Dr. S. Balasubramanian, Professor & Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, KPRIET, acknowledged the efforts of the organizers and highlighted the relevance of the topic in the current energy scenario. Lt. Dr. A.K. Priya, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, KPRIET and Committee Member, IEI CLC, introduced the distinguished speaker.The keynote address was delivered by Dr. D. Ramesh, Professor and Head, Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. He elaborated on the potential of hydrogen fuel, production technologies, storage, distribution challenges, and India's roadmap for a hydrogen-based economy. He explained the classification of hydrogen—grey, blue, and green—based on production methods, and emphasized the importance of green hydrogen produced via electrolysis using renewable energy. Dr. Ramesh detailed current technologies like steam methane reforming, biomass gasification, and water electrolysis, along with emerging photobiological techniques.Highlighting India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, he discussed goals such as producing 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually and building necessary infrastructure. He outlined challenges like high production costs, safety, storage, and lack of refueling infrastructure.Dr. Ramesh also stressed the wide-ranging applications of hydrogen in transport, power, fertilizers, and industries like steel and cement. He called for strong academia-industry partnerships and encouraged students to pursue hydrogen-related R&D. He concluded with a strong message that hydrogen is key to achieving a sustainable, low-carbon future for India. Finally, the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr G Madhan Mohan, Honorary Secretary, IEI Coimbatore Local Centre.
21st Century Engineering College in Coimbatore
World is transforming everyday. In the rapidly evolving engineering landscape, we have an Increased responsibility to transform the engineering education from traditional curriculum to meet the 21st century skills like Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication. Through our unique and strategic approach we enable our students to learn beyond and prepare them for life long success.
