Green hydrogen innovation center to come up at IIT Madras by 2026

A state-of-the-art green hydrogen innovation center is set to be established at IIT Madras’ Discovery Campus in Thaiyur, with operations scheduled to begin by 2026.

The Hyundai HTWO Innovation Centre is a joint effort by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), and Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state’s nodal investment promotion agency.

The project stems from a partnership formalized during the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024.

Hyundai Motor India Limited and the Hyundai Motor India Foundation have committed ₹100 crore toward the center, which has a total project cost of ₹180 crore.

Spread over 65,000 square feet, the facility is being developed with the support of the Government of Tamil Nadu, according to a press release.

The center will be equipped with advanced experimental and computational laboratories dedicated to green hydrogen research.

It will also feature digital twin simulations of hydrogen infrastructure, test rigs, fabrication lines, and containerized pilot zones to evaluate electrolyzers and fuel cells at an industrial scale. IIT Madras will lead the development and operation of the facility.

The project is being jointly led by Hyundai’s HTWO brand, faculty from IIT Madras, and government partners.

The launch event brought together representatives from Hyundai, IIT Madras, CSIR-NCL, the Korean Consulate, and key players from academia, industry, and policy-making bodies.

“IIT Madras will oversee the development and operation of the center,” the release stated.

Prof V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, emphasized the collaborative nature of the project, saying it would serve as a platform for partnerships between academia, research institutions, industry, and policy sectors.

Meanwhile, IIT Madras has expanded its ‘School Connect’ initiative for high school students. The program, which initially offered two courses, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and Electronic Systems, now includes 10 online certificate courses.

These eight-week hands-on courses are open to students from Classes 10, 11, and 12 across India.

Registration for the August 2025 batch is open, and schools can enroll students at code.iitm.ac.in/schoolconnect by July 25.