On March 14, India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) addressed Smart Energy Council (SEC) delegation at the Australian High Commission (AHC) by providing a brief overview of the latest developments in the hydrogen sector in India such as government’s announcement of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Further, IH2A helped the delegation understand the role that the Alliance has been playing towards large-scale project and hub development for commercialization of hydrogen in India. The delegation consisted of 25 smart energy Australian companies across renewable energy, energy storage, electric vehicles, renewable hydrogen, and policy experts.
POLICY & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
India aims to become global hub for green shipbuilding by 2030: With an aim to make India a global hub for building green ships, the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways (MoPSW) has launched ‘Green Tug Transition Programme’ (GTTP) that will convert all tugboats working in the country into ‘Green Hybrid Tugs’, running on non-fossil fuel like Methanol, Ammonia, Hydrogen. Link
- India may hit back at EU’s carbon tax: India is considering imposing retaliatory tariffs on European Union exports in response to the bloc’s proposed carbon tax that could disrupt over $8 billion worth of Indian metal exports to the EU, two government officials aware of the development said. Link
- Thermax and Fortescue to Explore Green Hydrogen Projects in India: Thermax Limited and Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for green hydrogen projects in India. The MoU includes the potential collaboration of the parties in developing new manufacturing facilities and the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Hydrogen production could help to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries in India and enable the export of electrolysers and subsystems internationally. Link
- EIB, IREDA exploring partnership to finance RE, green hydrogen projects in India: The European Investment Bank and state-owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) Limited are exploring a partnership on financing of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects in India. The collaboration will provide much-needed support for the development of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects in India, and help in achieving the government's goal of 50 per cent of installed energy capacity from non-fossil fuel based sources by 2030. Link
- India's Cochin Shipyard bags $70M order to build ‘zero-emission’ ships for Europe: Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has been awarded an order for two 'zero-emission' medium-sized container vessels for Samskip Group, a European logistics firm. The vessels will be powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Green Hydrogen, and will carry 365 units of 45-foot long containers. The ships are expected to achieve 25,000 tons of CO2 reduction per year and will be powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells in a Hybrid power system with Diesel Generator backup. Link
- Ocior Energy to build green hydrogen, ammonia plants in AP and Gujarat: Ocior Energy is investing $4.86 billion to set up a 1 million ton per annum (mtpa) green ammonia plant in Andhra Pradesh and the Kutch district of Gujarat. It aims to deploy 4 GW of sustainable green hydrogen capacity by 2030. Link
- Kandla and Tuticorin to be India's first green hydrogen ports: Kandla and Tuticorin ports will be India's first green hydrogen and green ammonia refueling hubs for green shipping. India is aiming to be a leading exporter of green hydrogen, setting an ambitious target of capturing 10% of the global green hydrogen market by 2030. Industries are now trying out export orders for green hydrogen. India is aiming to become a green hydrogen and green ammonia powerhouse due to its low cost of renewable energy capacity. Link
- Gentari to bet on hydrogen, utility-scale power in India’: Gentari, the renewable energy arm of Malaysia-headquartered Petronas, is planning to expand its footprint in India’s utility-scale power sector. In an interview, chief executive officer Sushil Purohit said India will play a major role in Gentari’s future plans and it is in talks with several potential partners as it looks at both organic and inorganic growth. Link
- Hydrogen buses to ply on Indian roads soon: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that hydrogen buses will soon be plying on the streets of India. India's first indigenous Hydrogen fuel cell bus was unveiled in Pune last year, utilizing Hydrogen and Air to generate electricity. Link
- L&T signs agreement with France-based McPhy for electrolyzer manufacturing: L&T plans to set up a Gigawatt-scale manufacturing facility for electrolyzers based on McPhy technology in India. India is well suited for Green Hydrogen production due to its low generation costs of renewable electricity from solar PV and wind power sources. This partnership will provide India with energy security and green alternatives for hard-to-abate industries. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- European Hydrogen Bank: European officials have announced plans to set up a new European Hydrogen Bank to boost renewable-hydrogen supply by using an auction process and subsidizing the higher cost of producing the carbon-free gas. European politicians worry that subsidies for green-energy technologies in Washington's climate bill will lure investment to America. Companies find it difficult to figure out what help is available in Europe. The European Union has approved funding of up to €5.2 billion for hydrogen projects and €270 billion of unused EU Covid-19 recovery funds can be redirected to clean energy projects. Link
- Chart Industries and Nikola Execute Strategic Partnership: Chart Industries, Inc. and Nikola Corporation have executed a strategic collaboration agreement, including liquid hydrogen storage tanks, transport trailers, and the development of new mobile and modular hydrogen refueling stations for quick deployment. Chart is providing first-of-kind fully integrated mobile and modular hydrogen fueling stations for heavy-duty vehicles, lowering the barrier to entry and providing a quickly deployable fueling solution with lower capital requirements. Nikola is bringing comprehensive zero-emission heavy-duty trucking energy solutions to market. Link
- Portugal to launch Europe's first auction for piped hydrogen: Portugal is launching a pioneering auction for rights to sell hydrogen for injection into the national gas grid, which could be a key step in kickstarting Europe's fledgling hydrogen market. Under the terms of the auction, energy group Galp Energia will contract to buy hydrogen mixed with natural gas from producers and resell it to meet demand. This would remove the need for dozens of bilateral contracts between suppliers and consumers. Link
- Air Liquide paves the way for ammonia conversion into hydrogen: Air Liquide has announced the construction of an industrial scale ammonia (NH3) cracking pilot plant in Antwerp, Belgium. This plant will convert ammonia into hydrogen (H2) with an optimized carbon footprint, contributing to the development of hydrogen as a key enabler of the energy transition. The Flemish Government has confirmed a financial support to the project, and Air Liquide is committed to investing 8 billion euros in the low-carbon hydrogen value chain by 2035. Link
- BP earmarks USD 2 bln to build Spanish green hydrogen hub: BP has said that it plans to invest up to 2 billion euro (USD 2.12 billion) by 2030 in its refinery in Spain to produce low-carbon hydrogen and biofuels. The British company aims to develop a large plant to produce 2 gigawatts (GW) of green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water using renewable energy, in order to replace polluting hydrogen used to produce fuels at the Castellon refinery. Link
- Hydrogen firm Thyssenkrupp Nucera says IRA spurring U.S. interest: Thyssenkrupp Nucera has seen customer interest soar in the U.S. as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and may create local production capacity with Italy's De Nora if the market takes off. Governments need to simplify rules around hydrogen supply to attract investment and scale it up to become competitive enough to substitute fossil fuel use in heavy industry. Thyssenkrupp Nucera is a joint venture between Thyssenkrupp and De Nora that is working closely to create manufacturing capacities in the US. It is in a strategic partnership with Air Products and has won an order for a U.S. hydrogen plant from CF Industries. Link