India's state-owned refiner, Bharat Petroleum Company Ltd (BPCL), has chosen the alakaline electrolyser technology of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to set up hydrogen production units at its refineries, the Mint newspaper has reported.
The newspaper quotes BPCL's Chairman and Managing Director, Arun Kumar Singh, as saying, "We have been extensively leveraging technology in all our activities. Today, through collaboration with BARC, we intend to scale up Indigenous Alkaline Electrolyzer Technology and look forward to commercializing it for large use especially in Refineries." It is not clear as to how the choice of BARC's electrolyser would fit in with the plan to tender out for electrolysers.
BPCL, a company that the government has said it would privatize, has committed itself to becoming net-zero emissions by 2040.
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Singh had earlier told the Economic Times newspaper that BPCL would tender out for 20GW of electrolysers. This blog had earlier reported on that development.
BARC, India's state-owned atomic research laboratory, had earlier offered its alkaline electrolyser technology for licensing. This blog reported on September 12 that BARC was asking for a payment of $13,600 plus 2 percent royalty on sales for those who wished to buy this technology from it.
It is well-known that alkaline technology, though cheap, is out of fashion these days because of perceived safety concerns. The proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology is the prefered one today, but the anion exchange membrane, still under development, shows promise. Why any company would want to rush into alakaline technology is an open question.
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