Starting the week of discussion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s National Green Hydrogen mission would give the country a new direction in the 21st century.
H2 View has closely followed moves in the Indian hydrogen market in recent years, with many labelling it as one of the potential hydrogen hotspots of the future. Writing for H2 View in April 2022, Ravin Mirchandani, Executive Chairman of Ador Group, spoke about why India is a country to watch when it comes to hydrogen production.
Read more: Why India is a country to watch when it comes to hydrogen production
Mirchandani noted the country’s ambitious hydrogen mission, envisioned in three phases: 1) 2022-2024 – focused on developing policies, guidelines and undertaking pilot projects; 2) 2025-2026 – focused on early scale up of hydrogen production in India, bringing costs down and facilitating policy-based incentives; and 3) 2020-2030 – a period focused on diversification of applications beyond earlier adopter focused areas.
In addition to the mission, Mirchandani highlighted key industry partnerships between India and global players, including Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Tecnimont, Ballard, L&T, Greenko, and John Cockerill, as well as a whole host of projects under consideration or implementation.
Fast forward less than year on from Mirchandani’s article and plans to invest more than $2bn in green hydrogen, it would appear that India has hydrogen well within its sights.
More projects, more investment, more collaboration
There have been far too many announcements to all be brought into this article, but since April last year (2022), Indian hydrogen plans have been coming thick and fast. Notably, ACME and the Government of Karnataka signed an agreement to set up a $6.7bn green hydrogen and ammonia project established in the state.
Read more: India to gain $6.7bn green hydrogen and green ammonia project
Under the proposed plans, ACME will construct a plant capable of producing 1.2 million tonnes of green hydrogen and ammonia per year, with an additional captive solar unit.
Adani and TotalEnergies in June (2022) announced a new partnership to create the ‘world’s largest’ green hydrogen ecosystem in India, with plans to invest more than $50bn over the next decade, hoping to produce one million tonnes of green hydrogen per annum.
Read more: Partnership to build one million tonnes of green hydrogen capacity in India with $50bn investment
The partners said, Adani’s knowledge of the Indian market, combined with TotalEnergies understanding of the global and European markets, will help the partnership deliver the ‘world’s largest’ green hydrogen ecosystem, at low costs.
July (2022) saw ACME Group announce further plans to scale-up the country’s green hydrogen production, revealing a $6.6bn agreement for a green hydrogen and ammonia project in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Read more: $6.6bn plan for 1.5GW green hydrogen and ammonia project in India
Having signed an initial agreement with the state government, ACME said the project would consist of a 1.5GW electrolyser and a 1.1 million tonne ammonia synthesis loop.
American multinational Cummins in 2022 also revealed it would be deepening its involvement in the Indian market. In November, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Motors to design and develop low- and zero- emission propulsion solutions for commercial vehicles in India, including hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICEs) and fuel cells.
Read more: Cummins, Tata Motors to collaborate on hydrogen ICEs and fuel cells in India
Shortly after, Cummins announced it had teamed up with Maire Tecnimont to help build a 10MW PEM electrolyser to be installed in Vijaipur, Madhya Pradesh.
Read more: Cummins, Tecnimont team up for 10MW Indian green hydrogen project
Major policy moves
The India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) in June (2022) submitted its $360m 25/25 National Green Hydrogen Hub Development Plan to NITI Aayog and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, which set out to create 25 national green hydrogen projects and five national hydrogen hubs by 2025.
The plan offered a blueprint for 25 green hydrogen projects spread across hubs developed in Gujarat, Karnataka, Mahrashtra, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, with a combined capacity of 150MW, producing up to 27,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
Additionally, IH2A said the plan, based on $360m of public finance is scalable, and could reach gigawatt-scale within three years.
Jill Evanko, CEO and President of Chart Industries, and founding member of the IH2A commented, “This is a blueprint of how the green hydrogen economy can be developed over the next three years in India.
“The estimated USD $360m public finance support in project development will help India quickly commercialise green hydrogen projects at scale in the region. Government support for hydrogen project development contributes to further investment from both global green climate investors and the private sector.”
Despite no word on implementing the 25/25 plan, India kicked off 2023 with a boom, with the Government approving a comprehensive $2bn incentive plan to boost its green hydrogen development, following moves made in the US and Europe.
Under its Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT), two distinct financial incentive mechanisms, which is hoped to target domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen, the Government plans to cut carbon emissions and drive exports.
Having previously announced aims of producing five million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030, the new plan targeted bringing down the cost of green hydrogen production from 400 rupees ($4.83) per kg, to 300 rupees ($3.62).
Hoped to create export opportunities for green hydrogen and its derivatives; focus on the decarbonisation of industry, mobility, and energy; reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock; develop indigenous manufacturing capabilities; and create employment opportunities and technologies, the Government said a ‘robust’ standards and regulations framework would be developed.
Additionally, it said a public-private framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) would also be established, setting deadlines for R&D projects to be scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies, combined with a coordinated skills development programme.
Conviction continues
Developments over the past 10 months have set a clear scene for India. It is hungry for hydrogen and appears willing to make it a reality. This week’s conference also sees a strong focus on hydrogen throughout the agenda.
The India Energy Week 2023 is expected to feature more than 30 energy Ministers, 50 CEOs and 10,000+ delegates offering an opportunity to “showcase India as both an engine of global economic growth and a driver for global consumption, supported by a conducive and investment-friendly environment, and a skilled workforce.”
Over the course of the week, H2 View will bring you updates from the event, as well as flashbacks to highlights from the H2 View India Snap Summit in September (2022), which saw industry players discuss the opportunities, challenges, and potential solutions for the energy Indian hydrogen market.