India/Japan tie-up for clean hydrogen/ammonia

A joint agreement between India and Japan will promote the development and deployment of clean hydrogen and ammonia technologies.

India’s renewable energy ministry and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) have said the two countries are to work together on hydrogen and ammonia value chains and support low-carbon development.

The countries will focus on five key areas of cooperation: research and innovation, policy, standards and trade facilitation, trade and investment, and international talks. They will also prioritise port and infrastructure development, as well as supply chains and trade corridors.

METI said, “Through this, participants believe that India and Japan will leverage their combined strength to promote hydrogen/ammonia ecosystems in India, Japan and third countries.”

Both countries already have complementary low-carbon strategies. Japan, the first country to adopt a national hydrogen strategy back in 2017, has set a target of 20 million tonnes/year of hydrogen use by 2050. It also aims to expand ammonia fuel use to 3 million tonnes/year by 2030.

Meanwhile. India is targeting 5 million tonnes/year of green hydrogen production, through its National Green Hydrogen Mission.

Plus, a group of six Japanese companies are to explore investment in a new green ammonia production facility to be built in Odisha, eastern India, by 2030. The facility will have a production capacity of 400,000 tonnes/year of green ammonia, which would be transported to Japan for domestic use.