RIL, Tata Motors, IOCL to Be Key Bidders for Green Hydrogen Pilot Project: Report

(Business Today) The pilot project will help identify operational issues and gaps in terms of technology readiness, regulations, implementation, infrastructure and supply chains. -- Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Motors and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are likely to be key bidders for the government’s pilot project for the use of green/grey hydrogen (H2) in the transport sector that is in line with the government’s aim to decarbonise the economy and reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports.

The government aims to make India a leader in technology and market in green hydrogen. According to a report in The Economic Times, the pilot project will help identify operational issues and gaps in terms of technology readiness, regulations, implementation, infrastructure and supply chains.

The bid for the Rs 496-crore, part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission launched in January 2023, opened in February, and closes on Thursday, the report added.

However, bidders must participate as a consortium or partners to ensure the entire value chain from making hydrogen and dispensing it to running vehicles, as per the report. The consortium should include a vehicle manufacturer, hydrogen fuel supplier distributor, as well as other partners.

As per the sources who told the daily, Reliance is partnering with Ashok Leyland, and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, while Tata Motors is partnering with IOCL as a consortium. Ashok Leyland is also reportedly partnering with NTPC.

The H2 corridor project seeks to support the deployment of hydrogen-powered buses, trucks and cars in a phased manner. The successful bidder will be given funds to close the viability gap due to the higher cost of the hydrogen-powered vehicles in the initial years.

The learnings from the pilot project will eventually be used to help intercity buses, truck operators and private car users with the usage of hydrogen-powered vehicles and refueling technologies. READ MORE

Excerpt from Business Today: The Cabinet, on January 3, 2023, approved the mission to make India a global hub for the production, usage, and export of green hydrogen and to achieve its goal to become aatmanirbhar through clean energy -- India may not currently lead in global carbon emissions, but its carbon footprint is rising as it strives to develop, and is projected to peak during 2040-45, and decline thereafter. Considering India is a developing economy, the country has committed to achieve net zero by 2070. For this, the National Green Hydrogen Mission will play an important role, as highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address at the India Today Conclave 2024.

India’s emissions stem from pivotal sectors, with energy being the largest, as the country is reliant on coal for generating power. Even though there has been an increased focus on renewable energy from solar and wind, green hydrogen is believed to be the way forward. Green hydrogen is the hydrogen produced by splitting water by electrolysis using renewable energy. The carbon intensity ultimately depends on the carbon neutrality of the source of electricity (i.e., the more renewable energy there is in the electricity fuel mix, the “greener” the hydrogen produced).

The cabinet, on January 3, 2023, approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission to make India a global hub for the production, usage, and export of green hydrogen and to achieve its goal to become aatmanirbhar through clean energy. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been steering the National Green Hydrogen Mission, to decarbonize the economy, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and enable India to assume technology and market leadership in green hydrogen. For this mission, the government announced an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. Of the total, Rs 17,490 crore has been allocated to the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, Rs 1,466 crore to pilot projects, Rs 400 crore to R&D, and Rs 388 crore to other components.

The mission aims for the development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country.

Besides these, other public sector undertakings (PSUs) have taken up various projects such as hydrogen-based Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) buses in Leh by NTPC, hydrogen-based FCEV buses in Greater Noida by NTPC, Oil India Limited has developed a 60 kW capacity hydrogen fuel cell bus, which is a hybrid of an electric drive and a fuel cell, and demonstration pilot plants for production of Green Hydrogen through water electrolysis using solar power, biomass oxy steam gasification and CBG reforming for refuelling 15 no. of hydrogen fuel cell buses by Indian Oil.

Private companies too have taken initiatives for adopting green hydrogen. Jindal Stainless had partnered with Hygenco India Private Limited to install a green hydrogen plant at its facility in Hisar, Haryana. Inaugurated recently, this plant will enable Jindal Stainless to considerably reduce its CO2 emissions by nearly 54,000 MT over the next 20 years. READ MORE