(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that the government's aim
is to bring down the production cost of green hydrogen from $5-6
per kg to $1 per kg, Trend reports citing The Print.
It will be difficult to speed up India's transition to
renewables“unless cheap finance is available to be able to rapidly
enhance both renewable and non-renewable”, Kant told Bloomberg
Television. Finances at low costs are critical, he added.
Slashing production costs, many believe, can act as an incentive
for Indian industries to use clean energy. With climate scientists
urging the world to move towards clean fuels to check the pace of
global warming, the shift away from fossil fuels has gained
urgency.
Unlike petrol or diesel, hydrogen releases no carbon emissions
upon combustion. Hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of
water is called green hydrogen and is classified as renewable since
it is made using wind or solar energy.
India is currently the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide
in the world. Addressing the nation on Independence Day in 2021,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 'Green Hydrogen Mission'
to make India the world's largest exporter of green hydrogen with a
five million ton production target by 2030. To that effect, the
government unveiled a Green Hydrogen Policy in February to boost
the production of green hydrogen.
As India imports 85 per cent and around 53 per cent of its oil
and gas requirements respectively, green hydrogen can help reduce
the country's dependence on imports. In addition to reducing the
carbon footprint, a hike in production of green hydrogen can help
India to meet half of its energy requirements through
renewables.
Green hydrogen is produced through an energy-intensive method of
extracting hydrogen through electrolysis, the process of running
current through a liquid to separate chemical compounds. The
production cost is high because the scaling-up of electrolysis
cells is expensive.
Other methods include gasification of coal or a process called
steam methane reformation (SMR). However, carbon and other
greenhouse gasses are released in these methods of hydrogen
extraction, called brown, grey and blue hydrogen, making them
unsustainable.
India's Green Hydrogen Policy includes waivers on inter-state
transmission charges for 25 years. What this means is that
inter-state transmission charges will not apply if a producer wants
to set up a solar power plant in one state to power a green
hydrogen plant in another. These waivers, according to the policy
document, can be availed by producers who set up green hydrogen
plants before July 2025.
The Ministry of Power, in a press statement in February, said
that manufacturers of Green Hydrogen/Ammonia and the renewable
energy plant shall be given connectivity to the grid on priority
basis to avoid any procedural delay.
Moreover, the government has committed to setting up a
single-window clearance process via the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy, for those looking to invest in green hydrogen, to
ensure that production can begin“in a time-bound manner”.
The Indian industry's interest in scaling-up this source of
renewable energy was palpable even before the government launched
the 'Green Hydrogen Mission' last August.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation Limited had announced last
July that it would set up the country's first green hydrogen plant.
In June 2021, Reliance Energy said it would invest $10 billion in
green hydrogen and other renewable energy sources.
In November the same year, the Adani Group, too, announced it
would invest $70 billion in renewable energy infrastructure,
including green hydrogen, by 2030. Joining hands with ReNew Power,
Larsen & Toubro Ltd. has also announced plans to invest in green
hydrogen.
“Private companies, aspiring to be hydrogen producers, should be
free to choose electrolyser technology, import of which should be
at minimum rates of import duty and GH (green hydrogen) exports
should be encouraged,” wrote Sanjeev S Ahluwalia, advisor to the
think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Green hydrogen can help decarbonise shipping and transport, and
act as a fuel for various manufacturing industries, such as steel
and cement. Steel manufacturing is among the most fossil fuel
intensive industries. In April, a study by the Delhi-based policy
research institute Council on Energy, Environment and Water had
said a gradual transition to green hydrogen fuel could help
steelmakers stay profitable by as early as 2030.
The study suggested that green hydrogen-based steel is 60-70%
more expensive than those produced through existing methods.“But,
only a minuscule 9% blend of green hydrogen could achieve a 60%
reduction in emissions and breakeven with the upper range of blast
furnace costs today,” it concluded.
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