HIGHLIGHTS
- India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) participated in Windergy India 2022 - two-day conference organized by Embassy of Denmark on ‘Power of the Wind: India’s Driver to Net-Zero’. Ambassador Freddy Svane opened the conference where Prasanto K Roy, Managing Director, FTI Consulting delivered a keynote on India’s Hydrogen ambitions. Link
- IH2A team met with Stuart Rees, Trade & Investment Commissioner at Austrade to explore synergies at G2G level given the recent announcement of India Economic Strategy update by Australia that features energy as a key focus sector.
POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
- PLI scheme to encourage electrolyzer manufacturing: India plans to introduce a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to encourage the manufacturing of electrolyzers used to extract hydrogen from water. The power ministry and the government’s policy think tank NITI Aayog are working on the specifics of the scheme, which is likely to be launched by September. The scheme is likely to run for five years. Link
- UK-India joint statement April 2022: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid an official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi where both leaders agreed to elevate India-UK relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both Prime Minsters appreciated the ongoing cooperation on the development and deployment of affordable green hydrogen for both countries, including through the India-UK Science and Innovation Partnership on Green Hydrogen and work on a Green Hydrogen Hub. Link
- India considers implementing a carbon trading program: India, the largest exporter of carbon credits, proposes to have its own uniform carbon market in one year as a large finance avenue for energy transition projects and emission reduction. The Government is looking to bring in a legislative framework for implementing the carbon trading scheme, that will subsume the tradeable certificates at present. The government proposes to begin with a voluntary market considering net zero announcements made by several business majors in the recent past. Link
- India pushes for clean energy bank, credit guarantee fund: Speaking at a round table with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and renewable energy companies Power minister Raj Kumar Singh pitched for a credit guarantee fund and a renewable energy bank to help countries transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. He also stressed the need for easier technology transfer to speed up the energy transition. Further, Singh said that countries should come together and work towards making hydrogen fuel cells more efficient. Link
- Government of Tamil Nadu has announced that a Green Hydrogen Policy would soon be unveiled. Link
- NTPC to blend green hydrogen in PNG network of Gujarat Gas: State-run NTPC has tied up with Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL) for blending of green hydrogen in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of the latter at NTPC's Kawas power plant in the Surat district of Gujarat. Green hydrogen will be produced by using electricity from the existing 1 MW floating solar project of NTPC Kawas. It will be blended with PNG in a predetermined proportion and will be used for cooking applications in NTPC's Kawas township. Link
- OIL commissions India’s first pure green hydrogen plant in Assam: Exploration and production major Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned “India’s first 99.999% pure” green hydrogen plant in Assam. Set up in central Assam’s Jorhat, the plant has an installed capacity for producing 10 kg of hydrogen per day and was commissioned within three months. The plant is also the first in India to use the anion exchange membrane (AEM) technology. Link
- IndianOil, L&T and ReNew tie-up: In a bid to enable India’s decarbonisation, refiner and fuel retailer Indian Oil, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an engineering and construction conglomerate, and ReNew Power, a renewable energy company, have signed a binding term sheet to form the joint venture to develop the nascent green hydrogen sector in India. IndianOil and L&T have also signed a binding term sheet to form a JV with equity participation to manufacture and sell electrolysers used in green hydrogen production. Link
- L&T collaborates with IIT-B for Green Hydrogen tech development: Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an Indian multinational engaged in hi-tech manufacturing and services, has signed an agreement with nation’s premier technology and research institution, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to jointly pursue research and development work in the Green Hydrogen value chain. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- UK Government unveils new energy security strategy: The UK Government has released new plans to raise domestic low-carbon hydrogen production from 5GW to 10GW by 2030 with half to be completely green. Revealed as part of new plans to gain energy independence in light of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, targeting 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production could be crucial to scaling the UK’s hydrogen industry. Link
- UK govt to invest GBP 366m in hydrogen: The UK government has announced a GBP 375m ($314m) in funding mainly aimed at supporting hydrogen technologies as the country looks to beef up its energy security. The package includes the GBP 240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which will back low-carbon hydrogen production projects, contributing to government goals of up to 2 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2025 and up to 10 GW by 2030. Link
- First meeting of EU Energy Purchase Platform: To secure the EU's energy supply at affordable prices in the current geopolitical context and to phase out dependency on Russian gas, the European Commission has established with the Member States an EU Platform for the common purchase of gas, LNG and hydrogen. A first virtual meeting, chaired by Director General for Energy, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, was held in April with representatives of the 27 Member States. Link
- IPCC sixth assessment report on climate change: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its sixth assessment report on climate change, highlighting the critical role of hydrogen technology as it is scaled to address climate change. The report also emphasized the dire that need more must be done, because without a more immediate and deeper emissions reduction, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C becomes impossible. Link to report
- GH2 to develop Ireland’s first hydrogen valley: The Galway Hydrogen Hub (GH2) consortium has proposed to develop Ireland’s first hydrogen valley, a regional ecosystem that links H2 research, production, and distribution with end-users. The intended hydrogen transport hub could be fully operational by the second half of 2024. Link
- H2-Industries plans USD 1.4bn waste-to-hydrogen facility in Oman: US-based firm H2-Industries has announced the signing of a pact with the Public Establishment For Industrial Estates - Madayn to develop a USD 1.4-billion solar-powered waste-to-hydrogen project in Oman. H2-Industries has developed a technology to turn organic waste and existing landfill waste into green hydrogen and pure carbon dioxide (CO2) without the use of external electricity or burning waste. Link