The Hydrogen Stream: India working on policy mechanism to promote use of green hydrogen for providing round-the-clock renewable energy

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working on the modalities for promoting the use of green hydrogen in supporting round-the-clock electricity.

February 7, 2024 Uma Gupta

India's power minister RK Singh chaired a meeting on the use of green hydrogen in conjunction with other modes such as solar energy and wind energy, for round-the-clock renewable energy

PIB, Govt of India

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working on the modalities for promoting the use of green hydrogen in supporting round-the-clock electricity.

The Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy R.K. Singh recently chaired a meeting regarding the use of green hydrogen in conjunction with other modes such as solar energy and wind energy, for round-the-clock renewable energy.

The officials had detailed discussions on the various potential options for using green hydrogen as a storage medium for supporting round-the-clock power and peak power demand. The meeting also discussed various government support mechanisms for such projects. The policy mechanisms being considered include one based on the Contract for Difference (CfD) methodology, which is based on the difference between the market price and an agreed “strike price”.

The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy gave directions to the officials to draft the scheme guidelines, based on the economics, technologies, and current and future market conditions of the green hydrogen and power sector. The Minister underlined the growing power demand and the importance of round-the-clock renewable energy in reducing the cost of renewable energy and making it affordable.

The Minister stated that learnings from the first such project will be used to undertake bigger projects in the future.

Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled hydrogen refueling stations for marinas in Italy – the world’s first green hydrogen refueling network for recreational boating. NatPower will invest €100 million ($107 million) in the project, to be launched at 25 marinas and ports. The architecture firm said it will start installing green hydrogen infrastructure this summer, with plans to set up 100 refueling stations across the Mediterranean over the next six years, delivering up to 3,650 tons of hydrogen per year. It saied the stations will be built using low-carbon concrete via a 3D-printing process.

A German-Czech consortium has revealed plans to manufacture a drivable hydrogen motorcycle by the end of 2025, in line with European standards. The Czech partners will focus on vehicle development, while the German partners will concentrate on the drivetrain, with WätaS Wärmetauscher Sachsen GmbH developing fuel cell stacks and Fraunhofer IWU supporting production technology and stack functionality enhancement.

NTPC Green Energy Ltd. (NGEL) and the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra have agreed to jointly develop green hydrogen and derivatives with a capacity of up to 1 million tons per year. The plan includes 2 GW of pumped hydro projects and up to up to 5 GW of renewable energy installations, with or without storage. The potential investment could reach INR 800 million ($9.63 million).

Nikola has opened its first HYLA hydrogen refueling station in southern California. The Arizona-based company said that the facility, which includes an advanced modular fueler, marks the latest step in its plans to offer hydrogen refueling solutions for Class 8 trucks.

Spain could produce up to 2.5 million metric tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030, with an electrolysis capacity of 23.3 GW, said Arturo Gonzalo, the CEO of Enagas. This projection exceeds the current demand for green hydrogen in Spain, which is approximately 1 metric ton (MT) per year, surpassing the annual consumption of gray hydrogen at 600,000 tons. In the maximum potential scenario, production could reach 7.9 MT per year, with an electrolysis capacity of 74.3 GW, and consumption at 1.4 MT per year. The baseline scenario suggests a production of 1.6 MT per year, an electrolysis capacity of 13.4 GW, and a consumption forecast of 1 MT per year.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.