New Delhi: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant Told That the government aims to reduce the production cost of green hydrogen from $5-6 per kg to $1 per kg.
It will be difficult to accelerate India’s transition to renewable energy “unless cheaper finance is available to be able to rapidly scale up both renewables and non-renewables,” Kant said. bloomberg television, Finance at low cost is important, he added.
Many believe that the reduction in production costs can act as an incentive for Indian industries to use clean energy. The urgency to move away from fossil fuels has increased as climate scientists urge the world to move to cleaner fuels to halt the pace of global warming.
Unlike petrol or diesel, hydrogen leaves no carbon emissions upon combustion. Hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water is called green hydrogen and is classified as renewable because it is made using wind or solar power.
India is currently the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. Addressing the nation on Independence Day in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils the ‘Ughana’Green Hydrogen MissionTo make India the world’s largest exporter of green hydrogen with a production target of 5 million tonnes by 2030. To that effect, the government unveiled a Green Hydrogen Policy To promote the production of green hydrogen in February.
as India Import 85 percent and about 53 Percent of its oil and gas requirements, respectively, Green hydrogen can help reduce the country’s dependence on imports. In addition to reducing the carbon footprint, increasing production of green hydrogen could help India meet half of its energy requirements through renewable energy.
What is Green Hydrogen Policy
Green hydrogen is produced through an energy-intensive method of extracting hydrogen through electrolysis, the process of running current through a liquid to separate chemical compounds. The production cost is high because the scaling-up of electrolysis cells is expensive.
Other methods include gasification of coal or a process called steam methane reformation (SMR). However, these methods of hydrogen extraction release carbon and other greenhouse gases, brown, gray and blue hydrogen is callednot making them sustainable.
India’s green hydrogen policy includes waiver of inter-state transmission charges for 25 years. This means that if a producer wants to set up a solar power plant in one state to power a green hydrogen plant in another state, the inter-state transmission fee will not apply. As per the policy document, these exemptions can be availed by producers setting up green hydrogen plants before July 2025.
The power ministry said in a press statement in February that manufacturers of green hydrogen/ammonia and renewable power plants would be given grid connectivity on a priority basis to avoid any procedural delays.
In addition, the government, through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has committed to setting up a single-window clearance process for those wishing to invest in green hydrogen, to ensure that production begins “in a time-bound manner”. May be
Investing in Green Hydrogen
Indian industry’s interest in scaling up this source of renewable energy was already evident even before the government launched the ‘Green Hydrogen Mission’ last August.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. announced Last July that it would set up the country’s first green hydrogen plant. In June 2021, Reliance Energy Told It will invest $10 billion in green hydrogen and other renewable energy sources.
In November of the same year, Adani Group also announced It will invest $70 billion in renewable energy infrastructure, including green hydrogen, by 2030. Joining hands with ReNew Power, Larsen & Toubro Limited has also announced There are plans to invest in Green Hydrogen.
“Private companies, which aspire to become hydrogen producers, should be free to opt for electrolyser technology, which should be imported at minimum rates of import duty and GH (Green Hydrogen) exports should be encouraged,” wrote Sanjeev S Ahluwalia, advisor to the think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Green Hydrogen Can Help decarbonize Shipping and transport, and serve as fuel for various manufacturing industries such as steel and cement. Steelmaking is one of the most fossil fuel intensive industries. in April, study The Council on Energy, Environment and Water, by the Delhi-based Policy Research Institute, had said that a gradual transition to green hydrogen fuel could help steelmakers stay profitable till 2030.
The study suggested that green hydrogen based steel produced by existing methods is 60-70% more expensive. “But, mixing only 9% of green hydrogen can achieve a 60% reduction in emissions and break with the upper limit of blast furnace costs today,” it concluded.
(Edited by Amritansh Arora)
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