India can begin to roll out green hydrogen infrastructure by replacing grey hydrogen in existing industries and concentrating transport applications in small areas, according to a study by Indian thinktank Gateway House.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced the nation’s hydrogen mission in 2021, allocating INR250mn ($3.4mn) a year for research and development.

And earlier this year the country set out a raft of new policies designed to drive investment in green hydrogen projects as it targets production of 5mn t/yr by 2030.

$3.4mn/yr – State support for hydrogen

The country can be a natural home for green hydrogen because of its ample renewable potential, according to the report, titled Achieving the promise of hydrogen for India and the world.

India’s push for alternative and renewable energy has two drivers: the need to reduce the country’s dependence on imported energy and the need to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions to meet its environmental commitments.

“At the end of March 2021, renewable energy accounted for almost one-quarter of India’s installed generation capacity and 11.8pc of actual electricity generated during FY21, and it is widely assumed that the trend towards renewable energy is inevitable and permanent,” says the report.

Demand sectors

On the demand side, India has a large range of heavy industry that can be transitioned to green hydrogen. The country had 8.5mn t/yr of hydrogen demand in 2021, and this is expected to rise to to 9.1mn t/yr in 2022 and 11mn t/yr 2030. Ammonia production for fertilisers and desulphurisation of fuel in refineries are the two major sources of demand.

“The petroleum refining industry will likely drive the shift towards green hydrogen. It is the most profitable of the three industries that use hydrogen, followed by steel, while the fertiliser sector is weaker, requiring government support,” says the report.

State-run Indian Oil Corporation is planning to build India’s first green hydrogen plant at its petroleum refinery in Mathura, while oil firm Reliance Industries announced it will install an electrolyser at its Jamnagar refinery. Hindustan Petroleum, a subsidiary of government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is also planning a pilot hydrogen production programme.

Hydrogen will eventually replace petroleum-based transport fuels, but it initially needs to be concentrated in defined areas such as ports to avoid an expensive infrastructure rollout.

Industrial parks with forklifts and heavy-duty transport networks are the ideal locations for an initial rollout, according to the report.

Electrolyser manufacturer Hydrogenpro recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro to investigate the manufacture of gigawatt-scale alkaline electrolysers in India.

 

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Author: Tom Young