The thrust of India’s National Green Hydrogen (NGH) Mission is to promote India as global hub for producing green hydrogen, said R.K. Singh, Minister for New and Renewable Energy at press briefing on Thursday.
Green hydrogen is when hydrogen is generated from renewable energy sources such as solar or wind. Producing hydrogen this way is most environmentally sustainable.
“We aim to be the biggest producer of green hydrogen. The European Union, Japan, South Korea have all announced plans to produce as well as import green hydrogen and the way energy transition is taking place all developed countries with net zero targets will need green hydrogen,” said Mr. Singh.
Net zero refers to countries’ commitments to be carbon-emissions neutral though with differing timelines.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the NGH mission at a cost of ₹19,744 crore. On Thursday, Mr. Singh said that by 2030, India had a target to develop green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) per annum. This is alongside adding renewable energy capacity of about 125 GW (gigawatt) in the country. This would mean decarbonisation of the industrial, mobility and energy sectors; reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock; developing indigenous manufacturing capabilities; creating employment opportunities; and developing new technologies such as efficient fuel cells.
By 2030, the Centre hopes its investments will bring in further investments worth ₹8 trillion and create over 6 lakh jobs. Moreover, about 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030.
Green hydrogen is still a nascent sector globally with many foundational technologies still being experimented with. India therefore has the opportunity to be a leader, having already initiated several pilot projects in this space, said Singh.
There would be production-linked incentives for producers and India is expected to have the capacity to produce 60-100 GW of electrolyser capacity – the largest in the world, said Mr. Singh.
