SUMMARY
Pilot projects in green hydrogen and other fuels in sectors such as steel, mobility and shipping are pathways towards energy independence
India must emerge as the lowest-cost refuelling destination for sailing ships as the sector transitions to fuels such as green hydrogen and ammonia
While setting up thermal power plants takes upwards of eight years, harnessing green fuels as energy sources can be done in less than three years’ time
This is the time for India to seize the moment to define its pathway towards becoming energy independent and pilot projects being rolled out in green hydrogen and other fuels in sectors such as steel, mobility and shipping are steps in the direction, Raj Kumar Singh, Union Minister for Power & New and Renewable Energy, has said.
“When we pivoted to green hydrogen, our motivation was to become, firstly, energy independent and, secondly, the environment,” Singh noted during a conference on ‘Green Energy Pilots in India’, organised by the country’s eading integrated power utility NTPC in the run-up to the G20 Summit, Tuesday.
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Noting that steelmakers like Arcelor Mittal were already working on a pilot project to produce green steel, he said that this must be taken on a wider scale to reduce the industry’s carbon emissions. “We are one of the largest manufacturers of steel in the world and we continue to remain so while transforming the industry,” observed Singh.
Similarly, there was a need to decarbonise long-distance mobility using fuels such as green hydrogen or ammonia as electric mobility may not be the most viable option in Indi’s case, Singh observed.
Talking about shipping, Singh said that around the world companies were already working on technologies that enable sailing ships to be powered by green fuels over the next ten years.
“Shipping will go green. We must emerge as the refuelling destination for all the green ships. That is our ambition because we can provide them with green hydrogen and ammonia at the lowest cost. We need to prepare [green fuel] bunks at shipyards.”
Singh said he was already working with the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways to fast-track green shipping through companies such as the Shipping Corp. of India (SCI).
He said the creation of a robust storage infrastructure for fuels like green hydrogen and green ammonia was equally important and the government was already working towards that.
“Because our [energy] demand is increasing at a rapid pace, we need capacities at a rapid pace.”
He said while setting up thermal power plants took up to eight years, harnessing gren fuels as energy sources could be done in less than three years’ time.
Also, speaking on the occasion, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary, MNRE described ongoing pilot projects as a laboratory and canvas for the programme’s future success.
“They allow us to test cutting-edge technologies, evaluate regulatory frameworks and develop the necessary infrastructure. That data and insights gathered from these projects will be invaluable for us as we scale up and commercialise green hydrogen technologies,” said Bhalla.
Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC, said, “We think in the next one decade, hydrogen will become a mainstream fuel rather than being seen as something that lies in the distant future.”
As the world’s third-largest energy consumer, India seeks to ramp up its green hydrogen production to 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2030 under the National Green Hydrogen Mission to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports.