OPINION
Strategic Intervention for Green Hydrogen Transition –(SIGHT)
Lakshmanan S - Student, Kautilya
Strategic Intervention for Green Hydrogen Transition –(SIGHT)
The goal of decarbonizing the industry by replacing old fossil fuels with green hydrogen would require a great deal of support from the government because it is in the early stage of development. Green Hydrogen is made by splitting water into its elements, oxygen and hydrogen, through a process called electrolysis.
This green hydrogen is anticipated to be a significant component of oil refineries, steel mills, and fertilizer facilities. Additionally, it can substitute coal in steel mills and fossil fuels in long-distance transportation such as trucking and shipping. The government has introduced "The Energy Conservation Bill," which guarantees the effective use of "energy" resources to boost renewable energy. India promised during the 2021 COP-26 session that it might be necessary for initiatives aimed at energy efficiency to lower the economy's carbon intensity by 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels and to reduce carbon emissions overall by one billion tonnes by 2030.
Source: World Bank ESMAP Components
Classification and Production of Hydrogen
Hydrogen's classification facilitates the prompt identification of the environmental impact of its production by various parties, including policymakers, corporate executives, and environmentalists.
Grey -Hydrogen- The steam methane reforming (SMR) method uses high-temperature steam (700°C–1,000°C) to manufacture hydrogen from a methane source, like natural gas. These methods mostly tend to use carbon-intensive methods.
Blue-Hydrogen- The same procedure as grey hydrogen is used for blue hydrogen, except this time, carbon is sequestered and kept. This greatly improves its environmental friendliness but also adds significant cost and technological obstacles.
Green Hydrogen - Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis instead of burning fossil fuels. Hydrogen is called green if produced using a renewable energy source, such as solar or wind power.
India's Green Hydrogen Race: Reliance and Adani Enterprise Lead the Charge Towards a Sustainable Future
- Reliance Industries
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced plans to shift from Grey to Green Hydrogen production starting in 2025. The company has partnered with climate technology company Stiesdal to accelerate cost reduction and deployment of their Pressurized Alkaline Electrolyzer technology.
- Adani Enterprises
To decarbonize the world's third-largest polluter, India, the conglomerate of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and French behemoth Total Energies SE intend to invest $5 billion to generate green hydrogen and associated products in India.
According to a news statement from Total Energies, Adani New Industries Ltd. would first invest about $5 billion to produce urea and replace fertiliser imports to create 2 gigawatts of hydrogen-producing electrolyzers powered by a 4-gigawatt solar and wind farm. Eventually, the project hopes to produce one million tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030, supported by 30 gigawatts of clean power.
India's Green Energy Landscape: A Multifaceted Approach
India's comprehensive plan to advance and grow the green energy sector domestically is outlined in the path map. It showcases various key initiatives and schemes encompassing the entire green energy value chain, from production to transmission and distribution.
From Policy to Production
The National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet on January 4, 2023, has an outlay of ? 19,744 crore and is being implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The mission's main goal is establishing India as the world's centre for producing, using, and exporting green hydrogen and its by-products. Under the “Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) scheme” of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, a Request for Selection (RfS) has been issued for the selection of Green Hydrogen producers for setting up production facilities of 450,000 tons for Green Hydrogen in India.TheMinister of Petroleum and Natural Gas said India would become the world leader in green hydrogen production.
Oil India Limited has already put into service India's first 99.99% pure green hydrogen facility at Jorhat, eastern Assam, to meet targets by 2030.