India to proceed with US$2 bn incentive plan for green hydrogen industry
India has approved an incentive plan of almost US$2 billion to promote green hydrogen in a bid to cut emissions and become a major exporter in the field, according to a Reuters report.
The move is targeted to help India, one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
The country aims for annual production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, cutting about 50 million tonnes of carbon emissions and saving one trillion rupees on fossil fuel imports, said the report.
Hydrogen, made by splitting water with an electrical process called electrolysis, can be used as a fuel. If the devices that do that, electrolysers, are powered by renewable energy, the product is called green hydrogen.
India also plans to build electrolyser capacity of 60 gigawatts to 100 gigawatts to help produce green hydrogen.
The incentive by the government aims to make green hydrogen affordable and bring down its production cost, currently at 300 rupees to 400 rupees per kg, according to industry sources.
The government has said that to promote the use of green hydrogen, mandatory targets for green hydrogen consumption would be required of fertiliser units, petroleum refineries and city gas distribution networks.
The government expects investments totalling almost US$96 billion in the green hydrogen sector by 2030, with incentives to be given for manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen.
Indian companies such as Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, NTPC, Adani Enterprises, JSW Energy, ReNew Power and Acme Solar have big plans for green hydrogen.
The government’s incentive programme, named the “Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT)”, will also need additional government spending of 14.66 billion rupees for pilot projects and about 8 billion rupees towards research and other expenses.
