Tropical countries like India have an advantage in manufacturing green hydrogen due to their favorable geographical conditions and abundance of natural resources. Using renewable energy to produce hydrogen in India is likely to be cheaper than using natural gas. The low cost of solar energy means the electrolysis process can be powered by surplus electricity at peak times to generate hydrogen. Approximately 1,000 GW of solar energy can be generated on just 0.5 percent of India’s landmass, and seawater from its vast coastline can be used in electrolysis.
More than half of the sites studied in India had critical levels of PM10 pollution, according to WHO. In addition to alternatives such as solar batteries, pumped storage hydropower, and grid upgrades, hydrogen can be stored or used in a variety of sectors, helping to balance varying energy supply and demand. As the world strives to accelerate the pace of transformation in the energy sector, India is uniquely positioned to not only become self-sufficient in green hydrogen but also produce green hydrogen for export. By focusing on the production of clean energy through green hydrogen, the Narendra Modi government will achieve the Paris Climate Agreement’s emissions goals and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by 2030.
Water can be electrolyzed to produce hydrogen by breaking it into hydrogen and oxygen using an electric current. A renewable source of electric current (such as a solar panel or a wind turbine or hydroelectric power) produces green hydrogen. Most industrial hydrogen is produced today from natural gas by steam methane reforming (SMR), a process that generates large quantities of carbon dioxide as a byproduct. About 70 metric tonnes (MT) of industrial hydrogen is produced from natural gas by this process. Natural gas and coal are used today to produce hydrogen, which generates significant CO2 emissions.
Over 80 percent of India’s energy needs are met by coal, oil, and solid biomass. India’s transition to clean fuels would benefit from the use of green hydrogen to generate energy. Hydrogen produces no greenhouse gases, particulates, sulfur oxides, or ground-level ozone. In a fuel cell, hydrogen emits only water. India’s transition to a hydrogen economy will not only reduce its dependency on hydrocarbon fuels, it will also provide its citizens with clean air, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in absolute terms, mitigate carbon emissions, and fulfill the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Solar photovoltaics (PV) and electric vehicles have demonstrated that policy and technology innovation is key to building global clean energy industries. India consumes about 20 percent of its primary energy through electricity. Despite our use of renewable energy for electricity, we have not been able to penetrate the other 80 percent of the consumption market, which is dominated by hydrocarbons and import-dependent.
Renewable energy sources, such as solar PVs and wind, whose output varies with the demand, could benefit from hydrogen. Hydrogen holds promise as a low-cost option for storing electricity over days, weeks or even months. Energy from renewable sources, such as solar energy and wind energy, can be transported across long distances using hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels – from regions with an abundance of solar and wind energy to cities with a need for energy.
Chemical storage, energy carrier, and feedstock for industrial production are all possible with hydrogen. Besides serving as a fuel, hydrogen can also be used as a carrier of energy, allowing long-term seasonal storage and dispatch flexibility. With green hydrogen, there is the potential to produce green ammonia for fertilizers, blend with natural gas, or generate power on a 24×7 basis.
Green hydrogen can help India decarbonize industries, transport, and power that consume a lot of energy. In hard-to-abate sectors, such as steel and cement production, heavy-duty transportation, shipping, and aviation, hydrogen use can reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially. Particularly green hydrogen has potential in India’s industrial sector as it can replace natural gas, coking coal, or oil products. Steel, ammonia-based fertilizers, and methanol, among other products, can all be made with green emissions.
Over the past few years, the transportation sector has grown faster than any other end-use sector, and India is on track to expand its transportation infrastructure, which includes highways, railways, metro lines, and airports and ports. Despite the fact that transportation, particularly long-haul, long-range, and fuel-intensive applications, will be one of the primary use cases for green hydrogen, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) offer opportunities across the entire economy. In addition to decarbonizing transportation and energy, this sector will create millions of high-quality, green jobs.
Narendra Modi announced the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) on August 15, 2021. The mission is to make India a global leader in producing and exporting green hydrogen. Besides enabling India to become more self-sufficient in terms of energy, it could also become a model for clean energy transition across the world. Consequently, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has drafted a National Green Hydrogen Energy Mission document, which seeks to scale up green hydrogen production and utilization across multiple sectors, including transportation. Interministerial consultations are currently underway on the draft Mission document.
Establishing a strong and sustainable domestic market for the production and use of hydrogen is a key step that needs to be taken to accelerate the rollout of green hydrogen technology. Mandatory hydrogen demand is essential for scale. Hydrogen technology is likely to be adopted in other countries if the domestic market is strong. India can contribute to climate change mitigation globally by developing the green hydrogen market and promoting green hydrogen as a decarbonization option.
Demand will be created for green hydrogen in the following ways: immediate demand for green ammonia, gas blending, and other industrial uses, round-the-clock power with ammonia or hydrogen, and automobile or marine fuels with ammonia or hydrogen.
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