India H2 Monitor – July 2021

HIGHLIGHTS

  • JSW Energy has laid out a USD 10 billion plan to shift away from coal towards greener sources of energy production. With a goal to become a 20 GW capacity power generating company by 2030 with about 85% of the portfolio comprising of green and renewable energy sources, JSW Future Energy Ltd has entered into an agreement with Australian Fortescue Future Industries to collaborate on potential projects relating to the production of green hydrogen and utilising it for green steel making, hydrogen mobility, green ammonia and other applications in India. Link
  • IH2A Steering Group co-lead and R&D Lead at Reliance Industries Limited, Dr Anurag Pandey, shared insights about decarbonizing industry, maximizing market size advantage and overcoming the cost challenges to build a hydrogen economy in India at the ‘Hydrogen Strategies to Decarbonize Industries Panel’ at South Asia New Energy Series organised by TERI and FTI Consulting on July 1. Link
  • IH2A Steel & Cement Workgroup Lead and Chief Sustainability Officer at JSW Steel, Prabodha Acharya, addressed the decarbonization pathway for the steel industry and various challenges in the adoption of green hydrogen in India at the ‘Hydrogen Strategies to Decarbonize Industries Panel’ at South Asia New Energy Series organised by TERI and FTI Consulting on July 1. Link
  • IH2A is the Knowledge Partner to PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s ‘International Climate Summit 2021 - Powering India’s Hydrogen Ecosystem’ scheduled to be held on 3 September 2021. As a precursor to the COP26, the summit is bringing together Nobel Laureates, Policy Makers, Regulators, Industry Leaders, Experts & Scientists to collaborate and build sustainable pathways for production, storage, transportation, distribution and adoption of hydrogen. Link
  • IH2A Member and Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Amrit Singh Deo shared an industry perspective for building hydrogen supply chain and economy in India at the ‘World Hydrogen Policy’ conference curated by World Hydrogen Leaders on July 28 to reflect on national and international strides towards adopting policy frameworks that are enabling the deployment of clean hydrogen. Link
  • READ: Business Today’s story titled ‘India’s Hydrogen Dreams’ highlighting IH2A’s plans to work with the government to draw up a blueprint for commercializing hydrogen technologies and systems to build net-zero carbon pathways in India. Link

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

  • Shift Public Transport and Logistics to 100% Clean Energy: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Gov. of India, Nitin Gadkari has pointed out that government has planned to shift public transport and logistics to 100% clean energy sources. He further highlighted that India is rapidly developing alternative mobility solutions like ropeway, cable car, funicular rail, etc. and the ministry is working to create opportunities for alternative clean transport fuels like LNG, Hydrogen, Methanol etc. He also emphasized that concessions like those offered for electric vehicles by the Government can also be offered for green hydrogen. Link, Link
  • India to Leverage Hydrogen in Multiple Sectors: Amar Nath, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas underscored government’s intentions on utilizing hydrogen to decarbonise Agri and Refinery industries while speaking at an event organized by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). India is considering a proposal to make it mandatory for fertilizer plants and oil refineries to purchase green hydrogen as part of plans to cut the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. Link
  • India's First Green Hydrogen Plant: India’s state owned, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), will build the nation's first "green hydrogen" plant at its Mathura refinery, as it aims to cater to the growing demand for cleaner forms of energy. As 15 fuel-cell-powered buses are expected to ply in second half of 2021, IOC’s green hydrogen plant will help power them whose capacity could be anywhere between 200 tonnes and 400 tonnes per day. Link  
  • 4.75GW Renewable Energy Park: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has given the go-ahead to state owned, NTPC Ltd to develop a 4.75GW renewable energy park that will also generate green hydrogen. In addition to this, NTPC has also signed an MoU with Ladakh and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) for the generation of green hydrogen and deployment of hydrogen fuel cell buses. This is in line with its ambition to achieve a 60GW renewable energy capacity target by 2032. Link
  • NTPC REL to Set Up Green H2 Mobility Project: State-run NTPC said its arm, NTPC REL, will set up the country’s first green Hydrogen Mobility project in Ladakh thereby, developing a carbon-free economy based on renewable sources and green hydrogen. It plans to ply five H2 buses in the region and set up a solar plant as well as a green hydrogen generation unit. It has also invited bids for building India’s first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh. The sale of bid documents would commence from July 31, 2021. Link, Link
  • Ballard to Power 15 Indian Hydrogen Buses: Ballard Power Systems has received an order from Tata Motors for supplying hydrogen fuel cell modules. The 70kW FCmoveTM-HD fuel cell modules will be utilised by Tata Group to supply 15 hydrogen-powered buses to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) as part of an effort to usher towards a hydrogen economy. Link

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

  • EU unveils new 40% renewables target for 2030 and green hydrogen mandates: The European Commission (EC) has unveiled its long-awaited Fit for 55 package — a series of proposals that aim to put the policies in place that will enable the EU to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2030.
  • Offshore Wind-to-Hydrogen Project Launched in Ireland: The H-Wind project, led by UCC MaREI Research Centre, is being co-funded by Science Foundation Ireland and four industry partners: Gas Networks Ireland, DP Energy, ESB, and Equinor.
  • 2020 Tokyo Olympics showcasing hydrogen’s potential to the world: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which started on July 23, is showcasing on a global scale how hydrogen can power highly intensive venues in addition to a wide range of applications.
  • EIB and Cluster of Hydrogen Technologies sign new advisory agreement: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Cluster of Hydrogen Technologies have signed an advisory agreement within the framework of the “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators” initiative.
  • New Zealand to collaborate with Singapore on hydrogen export potential: Signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on low-carbon hydrogen with Singapore signals the start of greater collaboration between the two countries as they transition towards low carbon economies.
  • Namie, Japan and Lancaster, California ink historic agreement to be ‘world’s first’ hydrogen municipalities: Mayor Rex Parris of Lancaster, California and Akira Muto, the Japanese Consul General in Los Angeles have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a “Smart Sister Cities” relationship for hydrogen production, storage, delivery and end use at city facilities and communities.
  • Hydrogen investment pipeline has grown to $500bn says new Hydrogen Council report: The report suggests that globally 131 large-scale projects have been announced since February 2021 taking the total amount to 359 with the estimated total investment in these projects and the whole value chain being an estimated $500bn through 2030.