Hydrogen

The solar sector in India bounced back to make 2021 the best year in new PV capacity addition. The year also witnessed a massive response to PLI tender for solar manufacturing and launch of 50 GWh battery cell tender and green hydrogen mission.

State-owned NTPC Limited has selected California-headquartered Bloom Energy’s electrolyzer and hydrogen-powered fuel cell technologies for the nation’s first green hydrogen-based energy storage deployment.

The mission envisages commercial production of green hydrogen production in the nation from the financial year 2025-26 onwards.

EPC contractor Larsen & Toubro has partnered with renewable energy developer ReNew Power to develop end-to-end competitive solutions in green hydrogen.

USA-headquartered Ohmium International, through its subsidiary in India, manufactures modular-interlocking proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers for hydrogen production. The company aims to make India a nucleus for global hydrogen-based green energy solutions with R&D centers in Silicon Valley (USA) and Bengaluru (India).

Developed by French start-up EODev, the 100 kVa system is equipped with fuel cells manufactured by Toyota. The generator has a power of 110 kVA and its lifetime is guaranteed for 15,000 hours.

The Indian multinational EPC contractor will increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix across its campuses and project sites as part of efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA), which aims to mobilize more than $1 trillion of solar power investment by 2030 in its member countries, expanded its scope of work by launching programs on solar panel and battery waste management and solar-powered hydrogen production in its fourth assembly held recently.

India has seen substantial activity in the domestic battery storage and green hydrogen markets, from the entry of Reliance and Acme Solar in green hydrogen to gigawatt-scale battery storage tenders by NTPC and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). There are more private ventures in the offing, indicating the government’s policy push is in the right direction.  

A power system modeling study, jointly carried out by Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) and Wärtsilä, explores the feasibility of a net-zero-emissions power system in India by 2050. It shows that an all-renewables power system, when paired with flexible generation technologies (thermal balancing power plants and energy storage), can improve the affordability of electricity while ensuring the reliability of system operations.