HIGHLIGHTS
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IH2A Makes Various Submissions to Govt Seeking Budgetary Support: Industry body India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) has made submissions to the Government of India for budgetary support for creation of 10 National BharatH2 Clusters, a USD 1 bn Hydrogen Economy Development Fund (HEDF) and a Public-Private Hydrogen Taskforce, in the Union Budget for 2022-23. The submissions were made by IH2A to the NITI Aayog, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Steel among others. IH2A estimates that India will need investments of about USD 25 bn, from public and private sectors, to create a domestic hydrogen supply chain with national installed electrolyser capacity of 25 GW producing 5 MT of Green Hydrogen by 2030. Link
POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
- India to Have Green Hydrogen Policy Soon: Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh recently said that the green hydrogen policy will be unveiled in the next 10 days featuring incentives like free transmission for 25 years to boost production of this clean source of energy. The minister also said that the policy will feature dollar denominated bids, offer of land in renewable energy parks and land allocation near ports for creating bunkers for green hydrogen or ammonia. Link
- Incentives for GH2 Likely in Union Budget: The government may provide for targeted fiscal incentives and allocation of funds for promotion of green hydrogen in the country in the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23. The government launched National Hydrogen Mission in 2021 which was followed by India’s ambitious commitments at COP26 summit. As India aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50% of energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030, green hydrogen would have a key role to play. Link
- IREDA Launches Scheme to Finance Battery Storage, Fuel-Cell Tech: The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), State-controlled renewable energy lender under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has launched a scheme to finance new and emerging technologies that promote and increase the usage of renewable energy in the transport sector. Technologies eligible for financing include - battery energy storage systems (BESS) and batteries, projects involving production of green hydrogen (electrolyzers), fuel cells. Link
- L&T Signs MoU with HydrogenPro for Manufacturing Electrolysers: Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), said that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HydrogenPro AS, a Norway-based electrolyser technology and manufacturing company to tap the emerging Green Hydrogen market. As per the agreement, L&T and HydrogenPro will jointly work towards setting up of a joint venture in India for Gigawatt-scale manufacturing of alkaline water electrolysers based on HydrogenPro technology for Indian market and other select geographies. Link
- Hero Future Energies to Set up 1GW GH2 Facilities: Hero Future Energies and Ohmium International have entered into a strategic partnership to set up 1,000 MW of green hydrogen production facilities in India, the UK and Europe. This partnership will give a strong push to the development of a robust green hydrogen ecosystem. As countries and businesses strive to achieve their net-zero goals, green hydrogen can be an effective solution, especially, when it comes to decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors, such as the mobility, steel, etc. Link
- Oil India to Set up 100 KW Green Hydrogen Plant in Assam, India: Oil India Ltd, a government-owned oil and gas company, is setting up a 100 KW green hydrogen production unit at its Jorhat oilfield in Assam. The plant at its Pump station-3 in Jorhat will generate green hydrogen using anion exchange membrane (AEM) technology. The hydrogen generated will be blended with natural gas using existing infrastructure. Link
- India, Denmark to Jointly Carry out R&D on Green Hydrogen: India and Denmark have agreed to initiate joint research and development on green fuels, including green hydrogen, as part of the already adopted Green Strategic Partnership - Action Plan 2020-2025. The India-Denmark Joint Committee discussed green solutions of the future-strategy for investments in green research, technology, and innovation at the virtual meeting held on January 14. The countries have agreed to organise 3-4 webinars for partnership development and stressed on promoting call for proposals in green fuels, including green hydrogen. Link
- RIL’s $75 Bn Plan to Make India a H2 Hub: IH2A Workgroup Lead, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) plans to invest USD 75 billion in renewables infrastructure including generation plants, solar panels and electrolyzers. Energy analysts say Reliance is likely to opt for hydrogen in a bid to avoid India’s wholesale electricity market, which is dominated by financially stressed utilities. Earlier, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of RIL, had said that he has an ambitious target to produce green hydrogen at $1 per kilogram, a more than 60% reduction from today’s costs. Reliance, which aims to turn net zero by 2035, plans to produce 100 gigawatts of renewable energy, a fifth of the nation’s target for non-fossil capacity by the end of the decade. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund Backs Australian GH2 Developer: Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC has become a strategic investor in future fuels company InterContinental Energy (ICE), the business behind two proposed green hydrogen projects in Western Australia, the USD 37 billion, 26GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub, and the USD 70 billion, 50GW Western Green Energy Hub. ICE estimates the green hydrogen sector will become a USD 2.5 trillion market by 2050. Link
- Japan's Sojitz to Produce Green Hydrogen in Australia: Japanese trading house, Sojitz has secured a state subsidy to produce green hydrogen using solar power in Queensland, Australia for use in small fuel cells and small vessels. The Japanese government subsidy is part of a programme aimed at exploring the possibility of earning credits under the country's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) by producing green hydrogen in countries with abundant renewable resources, before transporting it for use elsewhere. Link
- Shell Starts Up H2 Electrolyser in China: Oil and gas major, Shell, has entered into a joint venture with Zhangjiakou City Transport Construction to set up a 20 MW electrolyser. The companies have plans to scale up to 60 MW in the next two years in the next phase. The hydrogen industry is critical for Zhangjiakou’s transition to low-carbon energy and to achieve the city’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets. Link
- Hydrogen Council Membership Grows to More than 130 Members: The Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led coalition working to accelerate the energy transition through hydrogen has onboarded 11 new members. The organisation now counts 134 companies from across the globe representing the entire hydrogen value chain and working towards the development of hydrogen solutions to foster the decarbonisation of our economies. Link
- South Korean, Malaysian Companies sign MoU for GH2/Ammonia Plant: South Korean companies, Lotte Chemical, POSCO and Samsung Engineering have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SEDC Energy, a subsidiary of the Sarawak Economic Development Corp. to develop a green hydrogen/ammonia plant at the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Link
- Saudi Arabia to Develop Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Based Transport: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry has signed eight preliminary agreements with the planned carbon-free city of Neom, the Red Sea Development Co. and other key national entities for the development of hydrogen fuel cell-based transportation and production of sustainable jet fuel. Saudi Arabia is also exploring the possibility of deploying hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses in key industrial and commercial cities. Link