The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had come out with a demonstration vehicle using hydrogen itself as fuel, G Madhavan Nair, the former chairman of the space agency, said.
He was referring to a hydrogen-powered bus developed four years ago by Tata Motors and ISRO after several years of research.
"In the long run, I will say that hydrogen-based thing will be the right choice because hydrogen has to become the fuel of the next generation," Nair told PTI in an interview.
State-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) last month said it will procure 10,000 electric cars.
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Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has earlier asked automobile manufacturers in the country to go for eco-friendly alternative fuels, else he would 'bulldoze' them.
Nair said the hydrogen fuel cell that directly powers vehicles is "pretty expensive these days" and, so, one has to evolve a low-cost fuel cells technology, to make them viable.
"And how to generate hydrogen in an economical way and then how to make fuel cells...these are some of the technology challenges. We should mount a research and development programme in this regard," he said.
"Lithium, you cannot throw it around. That becomes the most polluting thing. There has to be an adequate mechanism for collection and reprocessing," Nair said.
LiB has a life of five to seven years, which can be stretched up to 10 years, according to him.
"Disposals (therafter)...when you have millions of (electric) cars like this (LiB-operated)...they should not get caught in the normal way and pollute the environment," Nair said.
The availability of lithium is scarce and that's why the cost of LiBs is high, he said.
According to industry officials, hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles are "non-polluting", and water vapour is the only emission.
In such vehicles, hydrogen is stored in compressed form, which combines with oxygen in the air to generate electricity, which is used to charge the fuel cells to power their motor, they noted.
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