HIGHLIGHTS
India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) in partnership with NITI Aayog, the Central Government think-tank, have initiated a series of stakeholder consultations on Green Hydrogen demand in different sectors, supply chain management, low-cost financing, capacity building and domestic electrolyser manufacturing. The first consultation in this series identified key technical, economic and policy challenges that need to be addressed in meeting national ambitions for creating a H2 value chain. The stakeholder consultation covered the importance of a visionary national target with a view expressed by some stakeholders that India should target 5 MT of domestic Green Hydrogen production by 2030. Further, creation of a national hydrogen supply chain that includes national electrolyser capacity, creation of hydrogen-based demand in refineries, fertilizers and steel are expected to require public incentives estimated tentatively at INR 30000 crores (USD 4050M). This is part of a series of consultations being organised by NITI Aayog and the industry. Link
POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
- Net-Zero Carbon Emissions by 2070: PM Modi: While addressing the COP26 climate change summit at Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the need for collective fight by nations to tackle the devastating effects of climate change, making 'Lifestyle for Environment' (LIFE) a global mission. The five major commitments made by the PM while laying India’s climate action plan are: 1.) By 2030, India will increase its non-fossil capacity to 500 GW, 2.) By 2030, India will fulfil 50 per cent of its energy requirements with renewable energy, 3.) India will reduce one billion tonnes of the total projected carbon emission between now and 2030, 4.) By 2030, India will reduce its economy's carbon intensity to less than 45%, 5.) India will achieve the target of net zero emissions by 2070. Link
- GAIL to Build India's Largest GH2 Plant: Speaking at India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, GAIL’s Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said that the company has floated a global tender to procure an electrolyser for building a 10MW capacity plant, the largest green hydrogen plant in the country. He also said that the hydrogen produced from the plant can be sold to fertiliser units which as per government mandate are required to use hydrogen as fuel. It is estimated that it will take 12-14 months to complete the installation of the plant. Link
- Green Hydrogen for Transport Fuel: Union Minister: While speaking at an event, Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari said that there is a need to make India a country that will not be dependent on imports of petrol and diesel, while emphasizing the benefits of green hydrogen as preferred fuel for transport. Underscoring the need to protect the environment and minimise economy’s overdependence on oil imports, he called for industry to start using green hydrogen. Link
- India, Italy to Collaborate on GH2: India and Italy have agreed to explore development of green hydrogen, setting up renewable energy corridors, and joint projects in the natural gas sector as the two nations sought to strengthen partnership in energy transition. As per the joint statement issued by governments of both countries, the working group established by the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Energy, signed in Delhi during October 2017, will be tasked to explore cooperation in areas such as smart cities, mobility, smart-grids, green hydrogen. The countries have agreed to “share useful information and experiences especially in the field of policy and regulatory framework, to facilitate the transition to cleaner technologies.” Link
- GH2 Could be India’s Best Weapon in Climate War: Amitabh Kant: NITI Aayog’s CEO, Amitabh Kant said that despite being the second most vulnerable country to climate change, India is now leading the climate war with a clean molecule as ammunition: green hydrogen. He also underscored that India presently imports USD 160 billion worth of fossil fuel energy which is likely to double in the next 15 years. COP26 in Glasgow presents India with an opportunity to present its decarbonisation strategy based on renewable energy, storage, and green hydrogen to the world.
- IOCL in Talks with State Transport Undertakings for H2 Projects: In line with country’s hydrogen roadmap, public sector major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is in talks with state transport utilities of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat to set up hydrogen manufacturing units and refuelling stations. The company has also set a target of converting at least 10% of its hydrogen consumption at refineries to green hydrogen soon. This comes at a time when the country is looking at a proposal to make it mandatory for fertilizer plants, oil refineries and steel plants to use green hydrogen in a certain percentage as part of its plan to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. Link
- NTPC, Gujarat Gas ‘Blend’ Hydrogen for Homes: At a time when leading Indian companies like Reliance Industries Limited, and Adani Group are betting big on renewables, state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in association with Gujarat Gas is planning an ambitious project to blend hydrogen with piped natural gas. To begin with, NTPC aims to reach to 200 homes, the success of which would determine the expansion of this ‘hydrogen blended natural gas’ to other states and cities. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- The International Energy Administration (IEA) released its 2021 Global Hydrogen Review: This new annual report tracks the progress in hydrogen production and demand, as well as in other critical areas of policy, regulation, investments, innovation and infrastructure development. The report is an output of the Clean Energy Ministerial Hydrogen Initiative (CEM H2I) and is intended to inform energy sector stakeholders on the status and future prospects of hydrogen while serving as an input to the discussions at the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting (HEM) organised by Japan. Link, Link
- Germany Opening Offshore Areas for Green Hydrogen Production: The Ordinance on Auctioning Sites for Alternative Energy Generation in the German Exclusive Economic Zone entered into force on Friday, 1 October 2021. The Ordinance creates the basis for the practical testing of the use of offshore electricity for hydrogen production. Until now, electrolysis-based hydrogen production has taken place only onshore. From now, businesses and industries have the possibility to use and test offshore electrolysis. Link
- UK Government commits to hydrogen in landmark Net Zero Strategy: The UK Government has today (Oct 19) reaffirmed its strong commitment to both hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, with the launch of a landmark Net Zero Strategy that is set to unlock £90bn ($124bn) of private investment by 2030 as the country strives to achieve net zero by 2050. Additionally, a new agreement between Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and the UK Government will see £400m ($553m) invested over 10 years to drive clean energy technologies including hydrogen. Link, Link, Link
- Saulsbury, Chart Industries join forces on liquid hydrogen plant project: US-based Saulsbury on Monday (20th Oct) confirmed such plans, having been awarded a pre-front end engineering and design (FEED) study contract for the plant. It is believed the contact was awarded from a major US-based utility provider. Chart Industries has also teamed up with Saulsbury on the effort, having been appointed as the technology and equipment provider for the project. Link
- COP26 Updates: Link, Link, Link, Link