HIGHLIGHTS
- IH2A has expanded its membership with the inclusion of JSW Steel as the Steel and Cement Work Group lead, along with two government agencies - CSIR-National Chemicals Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) and Scottish Development International (SDI), the international arm of the Scottish Government; and three national sustainability think tanks – TERI, CEEW and WRI India. Link
- IH2A’s Steering Group co-lead Reliance Industries has announced investment of USD 10 billion (INR 75,000 crore) in clean and renewable energy. As part of its 'Green Vision' to become a net carbon zero company, it plans to set up four giga factories for solar, energy storage, electrolysers, and fuel cells. Two giga factories will be dedicated to green hydrogen as it plans to commercialise hydrogen technology and develop green and blue hydrogen in the country. Link
- IH2A’s Steering Group co-lead Reliance Industries and Steel and Cement Workgroup lead JSW Steel will join other industry and policy leaders to discuss ‘Hydrogen Strategies to Decarbonize Industries’ at South Asia New Energy Series organised by FTI Consulting and TERI on July 1. Link
- IH2A’s Steering Group co-lead and CEO & President Chart Industries, Jillian Evanko, shared insights on ways in which hydrogen economy is being funded globally and how India could replicate the public-private-partnership approach across hydrogen value chain to meet its green ambitions at the ‘Clean Energy Funding Panel’ at South Asia New Energy Series organised by FTI Consulting and TERI on June 10. Link
POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
- MNRE looks at Hydrogen Purchase Obligations: Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), R K Singh has said that the Government will introduce green hydrogen purchase obligations along similar lines as renewable purchase obligation (RPO). Hydrogen Purchase Obligations would be brought in for fertilizers/refineries . Link
- BRICS Green Hydrogen Summit: India’s state run NTPC Ltd. organised a two-day summit on green hydrogen involving Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa, also referred to as the BRICS nations, on their initiatives around the green fuel. India pitched for common international standards for green hydrogen at the summit, to ensure safe transportation and storage of the new age emission-free fuel. Link
- Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog at FTI-TERI New Energy Series: NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant said that India should look to announce ambitious targets for green Hydrogen and electrolyzer capacity by 2030 on similar lines as the 450 GW target for renewables. He also said that we should roll out production link incentive (PLI) scheme for electrolyser manufacturing to leverage the huge global supply bottleneck of electrolysers that is exists in our markets, while speaking at FTI-TERI New Energy Series.
- NTPC Invites EOIs for Hydrogen Pilots: In a push for India’s green hydrogen efforts, state-run NTPC Ltd has floated a global expression of interest (EOI) for setting up two pilot projects; standalone fuel-cell based backup power system and a microgrid system, with hydrogen production using electrolyser. Through the projects, NTPC is looking to further strengthen its footprint in green and clean fuel. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- Hydrogen Energy Earthshot to Accelerate Breakthroughs Toward a Net-Zero Economy: U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced the launch of DOE’s Energy Earthshots Initiative, which is intended to accelerate the development of “abundant, affordable, and reliable” clean energy solutions by 2030. The first Energy Earthshot – Hydrogen Shot – aims to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1/kg within the decade.
- Climate leads G7 agenda: The Group of Seven (G7) - an international political forum comprised of leaders from Canada, France, U.K., Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. - met in Cornwall for the G7 Leaders’ Summit to discuss critical issues, with particular emphasis on climate change and decarbonisation. All G7 leaders have announced hydrogen-focused plans and commitments as a step toward decarbonising their respective economies and pledged to ramp up efforts to advance commercial scale hydrogen sourced from both low-carbon and renewable sources as well as support for global fuel cell deployment.
- Australia partners with Germany and Japan on hydrogen initiatives: Australia’s new accord with Germany will see the two nations invest in a new series of initiatives that will help drive and accelerate the development of a hydrogen industry as well as keep the 1.5°C temperature goal within reach. Additionally, Australia and Japan have announced the commitment to jointly support initiatives that will help drive transitions to net zero emissions with a focus on clean technology such as hydrogen.
- Egypt planning $4bn green hydrogen gas project: Egypt is planning to invest up to $4 billion in a project to generate green hydrogen gas through water electrolysis, according to the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker. The project is currently in the feasibility studies stage, in consultation with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt and a group of concerned ministries.
- Belfast power-to-X project expands hydrogen storage plans: The city of Belfast has expanded plans for hydrogen storage as part of its renewable energy hub project in Northern Ireland, which aims to reduce carbon-intensive natural gas use, energy storage developer dCarbonX. The planned subsurface renewable hydrogen storage facility will accommodate production from 70 MW of electrolyzers, promoting wind and solar power projects.
- Scottish government provides £26m to help green energy transition: An energy transition zone in Aberdeen is being allocated £26m by the Scottish government to help the transition from oil and gas jobs to green energy. The zone aims to transform the area into a hub for cleaner energies such as offshore wind and hydrogen. Planned projects include manufacturing for floating offshore wind farms, a skills academy and facilities for testing hydrogen power.