New Delhi, January 25, 2023: India has begun taking significant steps to fulfil its commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070. Both the government and private sector are taking initiatives to address the issue of climate change. Recently, the Indian government approved the approved the Nation Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), which aims to develop a green hydrogen production capacity of at least five million metric tons per year.
However, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, such as developing infrastructure, increasing production capacity, reducing energy imports, creating demand, manufacturing electrolyzers, and scaling up production. To address the issue of demand, the government has set targets for hydrogen and ammonia consumption for certain industries. In response, companies such as Indian Oil Corporation, NTPC Ltd, Reliance, and Adani have announced plans to develop green hydrogen projects.
What companies are doing in India?
Indian Oil Corporation is collaborating with clean energy producer ReNew Power and Larsen and Turbo to produce green hydrogen. Besides this, GAIL and NTPC plan to build India’s largest green hydrogen plants.
Adani Enterprises Limited, for instance, has signed an agreement with Ballard Power, Canada and Ashok Leyland, India to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck (FCET) to be used for transportation and mining logistics. As per the agreement, Ballard Power will provide FCmoveTM fuel cell engine, while Ashok Leyland will provide the vehicle to Adani Enterprises Limited.
India's ReNew Power, a unit of New York listed ReNew Energy Global Plc is exploring green hydrogen opportunities in Egypt. In India, the firm generates nearly 1.8% of India’s total electricity annually and has a total capacity of 13 Gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power.
With an investment plan of $20 billion in the next 5-7 years, Reliance too is not behind. The company will not only produce green hydrogen, but also build facilities and factories to make electrolysers.
Similarly, L&T also plans to get into the business of manufacturing electrolysers. The firm has signed a MoU with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to carry out research on furthering green hydrogen technology.
Hindustan Zinc has deployed the first Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) powered truck vehicle, a step towards scaling down the carbon emission in its distribution system.
Furthermore, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global non-profit environmental organization has recognized UltraTech as a leader in ‘climate change’ for its 2022 CDP disclosure. The comapny has received an ‘A-’ score for implementing best practices and for its action on climate issues.
With its 500 MW factory capacity, the Indian unit of renewable energy startup Ohmium International, which manufactures electrolyzers, is exporting to the US and plans to start exporting electrolyzers to Europe soon. The company has India’s first Green Hydrogen Electrolyzer Gigafactory at Bengaluru wherein it manufactures proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen electrolyzers. The firm not only plans to increase its production capacity but is also open to collaborate with other companies to expand its presence in India.
Good news expected for green energy sector in the budget
While the government is pushing for transiting into green and clean energy and developing policies for its implementation, the corporate world, public firms, and the industry are showing promising moves. Even as per some experts, we can expect some more good news in this regard in the upcoming budget announcement by the Finance Minister. Some announcements pertaining to developing an ecosystem for green hydrogen could be one of the focus areas in the budget else as a country we will import dependent only, as per industry experts.
Is it cost effective?
Hydrogen produced using renewable resources can cost anywhere between $3 and $6.55 per kg, while hydrogen produced from fossil fuels costs around $1.80 per kg. In India, the production cost of green hydrogen is nearly Rs 500 per kg. However, the government plans to reduce this cost by 40-50% through its policies.
The future of green hydrogen
The market for hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, is projected to experience significant expansion globally. While most hydrogen is currently produced from fossil fuels, the number of electrolyzer projects has seen a significant increase in recent years, jumping from 40 to 100 and increasing capacity from 2 MW to over 200 MW. Experts suggest that the green hydrogen market could reach an annual value of between $120 billion to $175 billion by 2050.
In addition, as green hydrogen can be generated using the abundant renewable energy sources present in India, it has the potential to provide energy security and independence for the country by potentially reducing reliance on oil and gas in various sectors, including transportation and electricity generation.
What can we expect for the sector?
As it’s still a work in progress and has to be scaled up, impact assessment would be too early at this stage. With more collaboration, new manufacturing units coming up, cost-effectiveness and subsidies, the sector is yet to boom. However, there’s no denial that India has started putting its foot forward in the right direction and a few years down the line, the impact of safeguarding our environment will be visible.
What’s green hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced by using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. It is currently used in various industries, such as refineries, chemical production, and transportation in Europe. As a low-carbon technology, green hydrogen is seen as a key solution for decarbonizing difficult-to-mitigate industrial processes.
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