Minister Bahlil Confident Hydrogen Will Rival EVs Within 5-10 Years

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia is confident that hydrogen-powered vehicles can compete with battery-based electric vehicles within the next five to ten years. “My belief is that within 5 to 10 years at the latest, hydrogen will rival battery-based electric vehicles,” he said at the opening of the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit & Exhibition 2026 in Jakarta on Tuesday. Bahlil explained that the programme to build 100 GW of solar power plants could serve as an instrument to produce hydrogen. Thus, the hydrogen produced would be a clean product derived from renewable energy. “So, it’s clean plus clean, the result is clean squared,” Bahlil remarked. He further noted that the debate between hydrogen vehicles and electric vehicles has been ongoing since his tenure as Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board. Two Asian nations are leading the respective technologies, with Japan pioneering hydrogen vehicle development and China leading in battery-based electric vehicles. “A country’s stance will be determined firstly by clean energy, secondly by efficiency, and thirdly by whether the energy can be produced domestically in Indonesia,” he stated. Bahlil conveyed that hydrogen development is an instrument for energy resilience and sovereignty, and can drive self-sufficiency so that Indonesia does not depend on imports from other countries. The Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit & Exhibition 2026 is a forum bringing together government, businesses, industry, academics, international partners, and other stakeholders to strengthen the hydrogen ecosystem development in Indonesia. The event underscores Indonesia’s commitment to promoting hydrogen utilisation in the transportation, industrial, logistics, and port sectors, with transportation being one of the initial focus areas due to its potential to reduce fossil fuel consumption and vehicle emissions.