One of the suggestions made by the Amitabh Kant, CEO of the government's think-tank, Niti Aayog, is for all non-urea fertilizer plants to go 100 per cent green hydrogen.
Kant, in an article in Economic Times, has outlined how India can become a global green hydrogen manufacturing hub. He stresses that Europe is planning to import a lot of green hydrogen and India should not miss the opportunity.
"India is one of the early movers in the green hydrogen space," writes Kant. There are multiple reasons why India is pursuing this with vigour and conviction.
He further writes:
Firstly, neither hydrogen nor electrolyser is a new technology. More than 70 million tons of hydrogen is produced annually across the world, with India clocking around 8% of global production.
Secondly, India’s distinct advantage in low-cost renewable-energy generation and world-class clean-power execution capabilities makes green hydrogen the most competitive form of hydrogen in the medium run. This enables India to be potentially one of the most competitive producers of green hydrogen in the world. Since 75% of the cost of green hydrogen is dependent on renewable energy, we should target to further bring down the cost of solar power to Rs 1 per Kw/h through lower cost of financing.
Energy security is the third important reason to pursue green hydrogen as it will enable the emergence of a domestically produced energy carrier that can reduce the dependence on fossil fuel imports of $160 bn per year. In addition, with 500 GW renewables expected to come on line by 2030, green hydrogen could act as a solution to extract value out of excess renewable power and avoid the duck curve possibilities in the grid. Key policy measures for creating a green hydrogen ecosystem have recently been announced.
Following are the three steps that will make India a leader in green hydrogen. Firstly, India should make urgent efforts to secure the time-limited export markets. The EU is quadrupling its green hydrogen import plans for 2030. There is huge potential for exports to EU, Japan and South Korea. Secondly, India should encourage industrial R&D in electrolysers and other green hydrogen components. Indian companies cannot be dependent on foreign technology suppliers.
We need to industrialise next-generation hydrogen technologies in India.
Thirdly, industrial applications such as refining and non-urea fertilisers have to be mandated to go 100% green hydrogen by 2030 to ensure economies of scale for this nascent industry to flourish. With these measures, the price of green hydrogen should fall from $4 per kg to $1 per kg by 2030. With proper policy support, industry action, market generation and increased investor interest, India can position itself as a low-cost, zero-carbon green hydrogen manufacturing hub of the world.
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