Tata Motors to transition to 100% renewable electricity across operations by end of the decade

As part of its vision to move towards Net Zero, Tata Motors has developed a roadmap to transition to 100% renewable electricity across its operations by the end of the decade. 

The country's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer aims to achieve net zero targets for its passenger vehicle business by 2040 and commercial vehicle business by 2045, the company said as per its sustainability fact sheet. 

Tata Motors said that it had developed a robust product strategy for transitioning to a greener portfolio and the company's product plans involve an entire spectrum of clean alternatives across Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and Hydrogen ICE Vehicles.

The company which plans to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 30% by 2030, anticipates that the adoption of hydrogen, which is considered to be more environmentally friendly, will occur sooner than expected, thanks to a recent surge in investments from large industrial houses and favourable government policies, as reiterated in the fact sheet today.

The confidence in the  Mumbai-based conglomerate appears to stem from rapid investments made in hydrogen technologies and related infrastructure by some of India's leading industrial firms such as its own parent Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Adani Group, and Vedanta, scheduled to reduce the retail price of hydrogen significantly. Currently, it costs about US$4–6 per kilogram to make green hydrogen from renewable sources like wind and sun, while it costs about US$2–3 per kilogram to produce green hydrogen from natural gas.

Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors had told Autocar Professional in an earlier interaction "The entire climate change-related transitions are happening much faster than we think." Four years ago, did all of us know that battery-powered vehicles would take off so quickly? "The same is true for hydrogen," he added before emphasising that as things become clearer, the government and corporations are putting together action plans, and as a result, developments begin to take place. 

Tata Motors has committed an investment of US$ 2 billion (approximately Rs 16,500 crore) in its EV business starting in 2022 over a five-year period, and will also continue to invest over Rs 2000 crore annually in the commercial vehicle business.

At the 78th AGM, Tata Motors Chairman N Chandrasekaran had stated that by 2030, 50% of Tata Motors Passenger vehicles and 65% of JLR vehicles will run on green technology. Tata Motors had earlier announced that it has plans to have a portfolio of 10 EVs by 2025-26.