HIGHLIGHTS
- India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) was part of the maiden India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) to firm up economic ties between the two nations. Bilateral funding from Singapore and low-cost finance for green projects formed the core of the discussion between the delegations of the two nations. Key dignitaries present include deputy prime minister of Singapore Lawerence Wong, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and representatives from ReNew Power, ACME Solar, Greenko, L&T, Adani Energy and India Energy Storage Alliance. Green H2 will be a key element of climate goals and global cooperation, as India assumes G20 presidentship. Link, Link
- IH2A participated in the first EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum on September 8, inaugurated by European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, and R.K. Singh, Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. Link
- IH2A presented 25/25 National Green Hydrogen Hub Development Plan at Green H2 Summit 2022 in Delhi, organized by Indo German Energy Forum (IGEF) Germany and Innovation Norway. Link
POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
- India committed to 500GW of clean electricity by 2030: India is committed to having 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 and reducing projected emissions by 1 billion tonnes from now to 2030, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said while addressing the Joint Ministerial Plenary of Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM13) and Mission Innovation (MI-7) at the “Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022". Singh, who is leading a high-level Joint ministerial delegation, informed energy and environment ministers from 30 countries that India’s energy-mix strategies include a larger shift towards clean energy alternatives, increased manufacturing capacities, energy use efficiency, and a policy push for hydrogen including production-linked incentives. Link
- Hydrogen-powered trains to be ready in India by 2023: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that India is developing hydrogen-powered trains means and they will be ready in 2023. The use of hydrogen and green hydrogen as a rail fuel offers a range of benefits, including supporting zero carbon goals as a clean energy source. Until now only Germany has developed hydrogen-powered trains. This year Germany launched the world's first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains. French company Alstom has developed 14 trains with hydrogen fuel cell drive at a cost of around $92 million. Last month, India got its first indigenously developed Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus developed by KPIT-CSIR in Pune. Link
- India can produce Green H2 at competitive prices without PLI: Union Power Minister RK Singh has said that India can produce green hydrogen at competitive prices without a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. He added that companies in India have already committed to investing in green hydrogen technology and this will help reduce the cost of production through scale, and that India is committed to being the biggest hub for green hydrogen production in the world. Link
- Indo-German collaboration on GREEN H2: Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar held a bilateral meeting with the German delegation led by Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society of the Free State of Thuringia, Germany Mr. Wolfgang Tiefensee. Stating that the collaboration between both the Nations is crucial particularly in Green Hydrogen, Gurjar asserted that India looks forward to working with Germany on various aspects of Green Hydrogen to realize its true potential for energy security. The meeting assumes significance as India & Germany are working to strengthen their cooperation in the areas of research and development mainly in exploring alternate EV Battery Chemistries such as Sodium Ion, Aluminium-Air, etc and creating a robust Supply chain of rare earth mineral such as Nickel, cobalt. Link
- India invites private players to invest in GREEN H2: The time for green hydrogen has arrived in India, Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh, said while addressing the First EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum on September 8, 2022, in New Delhi. Singh also indicated that India was in the process of setting up its own manufacturing capacity for making hydrogen electrolysers. The minister invited private players with the technology in India and abroad to initiate competitive bidding processes for the manufacture of green hydrogen. Link
- Ballard to power India’s first hydrogen trains: Earlier this month, Ballard Power Systems announced a fuel cell module order from Medha Servo Drives, a leading rail system integrator, who has been contracted by Indian Railways to develop India’s first hydrogen powered trains. The two retrofitted diesel-electric commuter trains will integrate 8 units of 100 kW FCmoveTM-HD+, Ballard’s latest fuel cell technology, which offers improved efficiency and power density than previous module generations. Link
- Jindal Stainless, Hygenco plan Green H2 plant: Indian stainless steel producer Jindal Stainless plans to build a green hydrogen plant in the northern Haryana state with renewables developer Hygenco India, targeting commissioning in the third quarter of calendar 2023. The solar-powered plant will house an alkaline electrolyser that has a potential to produce up to 250 t/yr but is targeting initial production of 75 t/yr, describing the venture as a first for a stainless steel producer in India. It expects the plant to help it reduce CO2 emissions by 2,700 t/yr. Link
- India to significantly contribute to making of world’s first zero-emission aircraft: Commercial airplane maker Airbus said it would have it’s first zero emission (ZEROe) aircraft ready by 2035 and India would play a significant role in its design, research and development. Airbus’ ZEROe aircraft is expected to enable the company explore a variety of configurations and hydrogen technologies that will shape the development of its future zero-emission aircraft. Hydrogen propulsion would power this future aircraft, as liquid hydrogen would be used as fuel for combustion with oxygen in these zero-emission aircraft. Link
- Jakson Group eyeing green hydrogen projects in India: Jakson Group is planning to build green hydrogen projects in India, North Africa and West Asia. The projects will be driven by Jakson Green Pvt. Ltd., the company’s clean energy arm. Jakson Group is also looking for potential partners in the regions for its overseas projects. Chairman and managing director Sameer Gupta in an interview said that the intention is not only to look for solar EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects, but also for hydrogen and ammonia projects both in India and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Jakson Group is also in talks with some states regarding green hydrogen projects in India. The company is also aiming for acquisitions and strategic partnerships in “futuristic endeavours” like fuel cells, batteries and electrolyzers. Link
- India needs to get out of lithium-ion battery tech & graduate to hydrogen fuel cells: VK Singh: India needs to get out of lithium-ion battery technology for electric vehicles at the earliest, as the country has no control over the commodity, union minister of state for road transport and highways V K Singh said. In future, the country could also graduate to hydrogen fuel cells in its journey of green mobility and players in the sector need to work simultaneously on these technologies from now onwards. Link
- Adani Group to create 3 giga factories in India: Chairman of the ports-to-power bellwether Adani Group, Gautam Adani, said that the company is aiming to create three giga factories in India with a focus on creating integrated green-energy value chains. These gigafactories will focus on technologies like polysilicon, solar modules, complete manufacturing of wind turbines and manufacturing of hydrogen electrolysers. Adani further explained that through these gigafactories, additional 45GW of renewable energy apart from existing 20 GW capacity and 3 million tons of hydrogen will be generated before 2030. Link
- Japan’s Yamanashi to invest in India: Yamanashi Hydrogen Co. is looking to invest in India to set up a hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing facility. The development is good news for India as it addresses two key issues—a global supply crunch of electrolyzers and a lack of domestic manufacturers to make them. Link
- POSCO signs MoU with Greenko’s ZeroC: Global steelmaker POSCO has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ZeroC, a subsidiary of renewable energy company Greenko to make green hydrogen, and to jointly pursue opportunities in renewables, and other derivatives of green hydrogen. Link
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
- US unveils draft national clean hydrogen strategy and roadmap — with three key priorities: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released a draft National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, which sets out three key priorities: the targeting of strategic, high-impact uses of hydrogen; reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1/kg by 2031; and focusing on the deployment of at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs. The $1 goal was first announced in June 2021, under the name “Hydrogen Shot”, while the regional hubs — along with $8bn of federal funding — were clearly spelled out in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which became law in November last year. Link
- The Hydrogen Stream: World’s first offshore green hydrogen pilot in France:
Lhyfe has launched the world's first offshore renewable green hydrogen production demonstrator which has a capacity to produce up to 400 kg of renewable green hydrogen a day, equivalent to 1MW of power. The 18-month wind-powered pilot in Saint-Nazaire, France, will operate near the shore for the first six months, before it is moved to a site 20 kilometers off the coast of Le Croisic. The project will be installed less than 1 km from the floating wind turbine. It will use wind power to pump, desalinate and purify seawater. Link - Scrapped | EU's controversial 'additionality' rules for green hydrogen are history after European Parliament vote: The European Parliament has voted through a key amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II), scrapping “additionality” requirements at an EU level, and passed binding targets for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives in industry and transport. Under the new RED II, targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) such as green hydrogen and green ammonia are now set at 5.7% of all fuels by 2030, including 1.2% in maritime fuels. Furthermore, 50% of industrial fuel use will have to transition to RFNBOs by 2030, rising to 75% by 2035. This will require nine to ten million tonnes of green hydrogen, according to trade body Hydrogen Europe. Link
- EIH2, Ireland’s first Green Hydrogen Company, Signs Partnership Aimed at Exporting Energy: Ireland’s first green hydrogen company, EIH2, has signed a memorandum of understanding with both the Port of Cork and the Port of Amsterdam in a move aimed at maximising Ireland’s use of offshore wind as a source of energy, aimed at exporting energy. The partnership will provide an alternative route to market for renewable electricity by establishing a supply chain for green hydrogen to move between Ireland and Europe via the port of Amsterdam. Link
- Africa's first hydrogen power plant seen producing electricity in 2024: French independent power producer HDF Energy (HDF.PA) expects its green hydrogen power plant in Namibia, Africa's first, to start producing electricity by 2024. Once operational, the 3.1 billion Namibian dollar ($181.25 million) Swakopmund project will supply clean electricity power, 24 hours a day all-year round, boosting electricity supply in the southern African nation that imports around 40% of its power from neighbouring South Africa. Namibia, one of the world's sunniest and least densely populated countries, wants to harness its vast potential for solar and wind energy to produce green hydrogen and position the country as a renewable energy hub in Africa. Link
- Germany opens green hydrogen doors to Australia: Top German financiers and industrialists say Australia can overcome the tyranny of distance and become an important supplier of green hydrogen to their country, which expects first shipments of the flammable gas in 2025 with a tipping point to scale production in around 2030. Major challenges to Australia capturing the opportunity arising from Germany’s determined hunt for external sources of the clean fuel lie in the lack of a workforce to deliver the projects and the absence of a carbon price that would allow the economics of production to work sooner Link
- Japan’s Yamanashi to invest in India Japan’s Yamanashi Hydrogen Co. is looking to invest in India to set up a hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing facility. The development is good news for India as it addresses two key issues—a global supply crunch of electrolyzers and a lack of domestic manufacturers to make them. It is expected that an engineering team from Yamanashi Hydrogen will come to India in November to study the need and potential for green hydrogen and electrolyzers in the country and the infrastructure for such production. Link
- India Looking Forward To Work With Germany On Various Aspects Of Green Hydrogen: Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar held a bilateral meeting with the German delegation led by Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society of the Free State of Thuringia, Germany Mr. Wolfgang Tiefensee. Gurjar asserted that India looks forward to working with Germany on various aspects of Green Hydrogen to realize its true potential for energy security. The meeting assumes significance as India & Germany are working to strengthen their cooperation in the areas of research and development mainly in exploring alternate EV Battery Chemistries such as Sodium Ion, Aluminium-Air, etc and creating a robust Supply chain of rare earth mineral such as Nickel, cobalt. Link
- The Inflation Reduction Act: The moment for US green steel and fertiliser: Industry in the US will soon have access to the cheapest green hydrogen in the world, allowing companies to replace polluting coking coal, natural gas and heavy fuel oil with this low-carbon energy at little to no additional cost after the availability of production tax credits in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. Under the new law, producers of green hydrogen made with renewable electricity will receive a $3 credit for each kilogram (kg) of the zero-carbon fuel they can supply for ten years after eligible facilities come online. The production tax credits bring green production of steel, fertilisers and shipping fuel to cost competitiveness with current fossil-based commodity prices. Link