Minister Bahlil Confident Hydrogen Will Rival EVs Within 5-10 Years
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia believes that hydrogen-based vehicles can compete with battery-based electric vehicles (EVs) within the next five to ten years.
“My conviction is that, at the latest within 5-10 years, hydrogen will rival battery-based electric vehicles,” said Bahlil at the opening of the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit & Exhibition 2026, held in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Bahlil explained that the 100 GW solar power plant (PLTS) development programme could serve as an instrument for producing hydrogen.
As such, he continued, the hydrogen produced would be a clean product derived from renewable energy.
“So it is clean plus clean — the result is clean squared,” said Bahlil.
Furthermore, Bahlil noted that the debate between hydrogen vehicles and electric vehicles had been going on since his tenure as Minister of Investment and Downstream Industry/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).
Two Asian countries lead each type of vehicle: Japan leads the development of hydrogen vehicles, while China leads the development of battery-based electric vehicles.
“A country’s preference will be determined by, first, whether we use clean energy; second, whether the energy is efficient; and third, whether that energy can be produced in Indonesia,” said Bahlil.
He stated that hydrogen development is one of the instruments for energy resilience and energy sovereignty, and can drive towards energy self-sufficiency so that Indonesia does not depend on imports from other countries.
The Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit and Exhibition, or GHES 2026, is a forum bringing together government, state enterprises, industry, academics, international partners and other stakeholders to strengthen the development of the hydrogen ecosystem in Indonesia.
The staging of GHES 2026 affirms Indonesia’s commitment to promoting the use of hydrogen in the transport, industrial, logistics and port sectors.
The transport sector is one of the initial focal points for hydrogen adoption because it has the potential to reduce fossil fuel use and vehicle emissions.