Clean mobility is no longer a distant concept. Around the world, engineers are racing to create transportation systems that cut emissions while meeting the performance demands of drivers and businesses. One of the people pushing this transformation forward is Siddhesh Pimpale, Lead Application Engineer and Engineering Project Manager, whose work spans battery electric, hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell platforms.
Pimpale has already played a central role in one of the most ambitious hydrogen vehicle efforts in the United States. Through a federally funded program, he led a major hydrogen fuel cell initiative in collaboration with a global automaker. The result was 18 full-scale hydrogen vehicle prototypes, a milestone that demonstrated hydrogen’s potential to move beyond experimental projects into scalable, real-world solutions.
Building trust in hydrogen technology
The challenge of hydrogen mobility has never been just about innovation. It’s about proving that vehicles can perform reliably and safely under demanding conditions. For Pimpale, that meant integrating advanced safety features into eAxle systems, balancing efficiency with durability, and ensuring every component could withstand real-world use. He also had to coordinate across diverse teams and tackle supply chain hurdles while navigating skepticism toward hydrogen technology.
“Delivering those prototypes was about more than meeting technical specs,” Pimpale has explained. “It was about building confidence that hydrogen vehicles can be both safe and scalable.”
A broader vision for electrification
While hydrogen has been a headline achievement, Pimpale’s expertise extends across the electrification spectrum. He has overseen eAxle design and integration projects that combine motors, inverters, and gearboxes into compact, efficient systems. His work emphasizes not only performance but also manufacturability and safety, including a patented high-voltage bleeder circuit designed to make electric vehicle systems safer during faults and maintenance.
This mix of technical detail and big-picture strategy defines his approach. To him, the future is not about one technology dominating another. Instead, he sees battery electric vehicles excelling in urban and light-duty roles, while hydrogen fuel cells prove their value in heavy-duty and long-range applications.
“Battery electric and hydrogen are not competing-they are complementary solutions,” he says. “The future lies in using each where it performs best.”
Shaping the next generation
Beyond the lab and factory floor, Pimpale also contributes through research and mentorship. His academic work ranges from microgrid optimization to wide bandgap semiconductors, always tying advanced theory to practical solutions. He also speaks directly to younger engineers about the need for resilience, curiosity, and collaboration in a field that evolves rapidly and demands constant adaptation.
Looking back on his journey from hardware design roles in India to leading clean mobility projects in the United States, Pimpale points to curiosity and persistence as the forces that shaped his career. From tight design constraints early on to managing global teams later, each step built the foundation for bigger challenges.
Driving toward a clean energy future
As governments and industries accelerate their clean energy goals, voices like Siddhesh Pimpale’s underscore both the promise and the complexity of getting there. His work shows that achieving zero-emission mobility requires not only bold innovation but also disciplined execution and trust in the safety of new technologies.
For Pimpale, that balance between vision and detail is what makes this moment in transportation history so exciting. The vehicles he has helped bring to life are not just prototypes on a test track-they are milestones pointing toward a future where zero-emission mobility is mainstream, practical, and scalable.
