A conference on ‘Green Hydrogen pilots in India’ held recently featured a number of green hydrogen pilots being carried out by Indian businesses in the public and commercial sectors. Ahead of the innovative pilots, advancements in green hydrogen technology were also highlighted at the conference, which was hosted by NTPC Limited.
During the event, India’s Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy highlighted the need of effective measures that are required to be taken in order to reduce huge dependence on energy imports as the Indian energy demand is increasing at a fast pace. This creates the need to establish a substantial ecosystem for renewable energy, since renewable energy capacity is growing at one of the quickest rates in the world.
There are numerous green hydrogen pilot projects underway in India and other countries. Additionally, there have been pilots for heavy-duty transportation as well as green steel. Since electric mobility is not practical for heavy transportation over long distances, green hydrogen or green ammonia are emerging as possible solutions. The shipping sector, for instance, will provide tremendous opportunity to India to supply green hydrogen, green ammonia, or any other fuel required at the lowest possible price for refueling.
The minister further highlighted that India is considering the launch of a pilot program for green hydrogen or green ammonia for the storage for round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy. The majority of the procedures for conducting the pilots are already economically feasible. There are already businesses that have created turbines that can generate electricity using hydrogen or ammonia. These pilots are the first offers which can be replicated for RTC renewable energy on a bigger scale. This will solve the issue of having to rely on large-scale lithium battery imports. Considering the expanding demand and pressing need for renewable capacity, it is important to have RTC renewable energy as storage using green hydrogen.
Furthermore, the secretary of MNRE drew attention to the pilot projects under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. These pilots have been allocated with a budget of Rs 14.66 billion to support the sectors which rely heavily on fossil fuels. The pilots will have an innovation lab which will allow to evaluate regulatory frameworks and carry out testing of innovative technologies. Out of 14.66 billion, Rs 4.56 billion, Rs 4.95 billion, Rs 1.15 billion, and Rs 4 billion have been put aside for steel, transport, shipping, and other projects, respectively. The secretary also informed about the roadmap for research and development for National Green Hydrogen Mission which will be finalised and announced shortly.
