IH2A Members Meet: On April 26, IH2A Secretariat organized first in-person meeting of IH2A members where almost all industry members participated along with special invitee EIB (represented by the India country head and private sector lending team). After introductions, IH2A Secretariat briefed members on ongoing discussions with the government, status of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), plans for ongoing and upcoming quarter and progress on large-scale hubs including Kochi.
POLICY & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
- India plans green hydrogen incentives of at least 10% of cost: India plans to give green hydrogen fuel producers incentives worth at least 10% of their costs under a $2 billion scheme. The incentives will be awarded through a competitive bidding process and will taper down annually. The government is bidding for incentives in three tranches for green hydrogen supply and two tranches for electrolysers, with the lowest incentive awarded to companies with renewable energy plants or producing hydrogen and ammonia. The incentive is fixed at INR 4,440 per kilowatt. Link
- Centre seeks proposals to develop green hydrogen innovation hubs: The Centre has invited expressions of interest (EoI) for developing hydrogen valley innovation clusters (HVIC) in the country. This includes all steps in the hydrogen value chain, from production, storage, and transport to distribution to various off-takers, as well as renewable electricity production from hydrogen. Link
- India extends transmission fee waiver for green hydrogen plants: India has extended a waiver of transmission fees for renewable power to hydrogen manufacturing plants commissioned before January 2031, aiming to become the world's cheapest producer of green hydrogen. The move is expected to cut the cost of green hydrogen by a fifth and make more projects eligible for the 25-year waiver of transmission charges. Link
- Brookfield to pump $1 billion into Avaada green hydrogen (gH2) venture: Brookfield Renewable, a Canadian fund, has committed $1 billion for green hydrogen and green ammonia ventures proposed to be built in India by Avaada Group. The funding is seen as a vote of confidence in the government's policy push to turn India into a global green hydrogen hub by 2030. Link
- Jakson Green secures 1 GW RE orders in India, Africa, Middle East: Jakson Green has secured over 1 GW of renewable EPC orders across India, Africa, and the Middle East regions. The orders include one of the world's leading renewable energy asset managers to build the country's largest C&I solar park in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Link
- India rides the green wave as EU, US buy its clean ships: India has started supplying 'green ships' to traditional shipbuilding nations Norway, Germany and the US, boosting its ambition to become a global shipping hub. Cochin Shipyards Ltd (CSL) recently delivered two fully electric cargo ferries to Norway, and many more orders are in the pipeline. Link
- PMC starts installing unit to extract hydrogen from solid waste: The Pune Municipal Corporation is setting up India's first plant to extract hydrogen from solid waste using plasma gasification technology in Hadapsar Industrial area. The plant has a capacity of 350 metric tonnes. The green hydrogen generated from waste will be used for industrial purposes. Link
- India plans 250GW of renewable capacity in five years: India plans to add 250GW of renewable energy capacity in the next five years to achieve 500GW of installed renewable capacity by 2030. The government has invited bids for 50 GW/yr of renewable energy capacity from April 2023-March 2024 until 2027-28, with wind power capacity of at least 10 GW/yr. Link
- India's Tata Steel begins hydrogen gas injection trial in blast furnace: Tata Steel has initiated a trial for injecting hydrogen gas at its blast furnace in Jamshedpur, India, to reduce metallurgical coke usage and cut carbon emissions. This is the first time in the world that such a large quantity of hydrogen gas is being continuously injected in a blast furnace. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- Multinational consortium to build hydrogen hub in German port city: Seven German energy firms are collaborating to build 10GW of green hydrogen generation capacity by 2030. The project is centred around Germany's only deep-sea port at Wilhelmshaven, which will become the centre of hydrogen production in the country. Gasunie and Thyssengas have applied for EU funding to facilitate the construction of a hydrogen link between Wilhelmshaven and Cologne. Link
- Japan aims to boost hydrogen supply to 12 MT by 2040: Japan is revising its hydrogen strategy to increase annual supply to 12 million tonnes by 2040. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed a ministerial meeting on the need to revise the strategy and accelerate the development of supply chains. The industry ministry aims to complete the new plans in two months, including investment of $15 trillion yen over 15 years. Link
- Spain's gamble on green hydrogen: Spanish firms are ramping up production of emissions free fuel and investing in green energy projects, despite fears over costs and demand uncertainty. Madrid launched a 1.5-billion-euro plan in 2021 to support green hydrogen projects, using a European Union Covid recovery fund. Last year, Spanish energy giant Iberdrola launched the largest green hydrogen plant in Europe, with the goal of providing 10% of the energy needed by Fertiberia. Link
- Hydrogen greenwashing stalks EU net zero plans: European utilities are pushing to build power plants that will switch to clean hydrogen down the road, but the technology is inefficient and could lead to accusations of greenwashing. Germany is counting on hydrogen to help it achieve 100% renewable-power production by 2035, but there may not be enough clean-tech to produce it. Governments are steering their economies through the energy crisis with policies to guarantee domestic supply and double down on low-carbon technologies. Link
- 7 States in NE Regional Clean H2 Hub Announce Submission of $3.62B Proposal: The States of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have submitted a proposal for a Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (NE Hub) to the U.S. Department of Energy to compete for a $1.25 billion share of the $8 billion in federal hydrogen hub funding available as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The proposal includes more than one dozen projects across seven Northeast states that advance clean electrolytic hydrogen production, consumption, and infrastructure projects for hard-to-decarbonize sectors. Link
- Report warns of risks for Australia in global green hydrogen race: The State of Hydrogen report highlights that Australia is well placed to play a significant role in the global green hydrogen industry due to its renewable energy potential. However, the report warns that there is an urgent need to speed up priority pilot projects and the establishment of hydrogen hubs if it is to compete internationally. The pipeline of projects is valued at up to $300 billion, but most of the project announcements are yet to reach final investment decisions. Link
- Council and Parliament agree to decarbonise the aviation sector: The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on a proposal to decarbonise the aviation sector and create a level playing field for sustainable air transport. The proposal aims to increase demand for and supply of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) while ensuring a level playing field across the EU air transport market. Key elements of the agreement include the obligation for aviation fuel suppliers to ensure that all fuel made available to aircraft operators at EU airports contains a minimum share of SAF from 2025 and, from 2030, a minimum share of synthetic fuels, with both shares increasing progressively until 2050. Link