How Green Hydrogen Can Be India's Ticket to Energy Independence and Economic Growth
Green hydrogen will help in meeting climate targets and India can become a production and export hub of the revolutionary fuel. This will also help India attain self-sufficiency in the energy sector.
What oil is to Saudi Arabia today, hydrogen can be to the India of tomorrow. With green hydrogen touted to be the climate-friendly fuel of the future, India is gearing up fast to emerge as the leader or even a superpower in producing green hydrogen energy. For around a hundred years, the Arabs and other major oil producing countries ruled over the entire world’s energy market. But the coming decade promises to be the beginning of an Indian era in world energy domain. The use of petrol, diesel, and natural gas in wide sectors of economy is soon to be replaced by green hydrogen.
There is a widespread consensus among energy experts that India has the capacity, capability and resources to become a hydrogen superpower. During a recent meeting of G20 on clean energy issues, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol cautioned India not to miss the historical chance of becoming a leader in the world energy domain. Birol said: "International Energy Agency believes that India has the potential to become a superpower in green hydrogen production and should capitalise on the opportunity as the world makes a transition to clean fuels, even as India is set to soon overtake China as the largest driver of world’s oil demand growth.”
According to Jane Nakano, senior fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, “China and India have the potential to become world leaders in 'clean' hydrogen — not just as a potential supplier and also exporters of clean hydrogen, but also consumers and users of clean hydrogen.”
Saudi Arabia is also investing a lot in production of green hydrogen. Almost 30 countries have initiated projects in green hydrogen. It is clear that the race to produce green hydrogen will get more and more fierce in the coming years. But countries producing cheapest green hydrogen will win the race.
At present, the cost of production and utilisation of green hydrogen is not economical. It is 3-4 times that of other energy sources, but worldwide efforts are on to bring the costs down. Fatih Birol is confident that “thanks to its abundant renewable capacity, India is set to be one of the lowest cost sources".
The production cost of green hydrogen is currently around $6-7 per kilo. The cost must come down to the level of $2-2.5/kilo to compete with other energy sources. According to Birol, with the cost of renewable power, particularly solar, having fallen considerably over the past few years, India with its vast solar and renewable capacity could use that cheap electricity to produce hydrogen by splitting water using electrolysers. Top corporate leader Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is also confident that India can bring down the cost of producing hydrogen to $1 per KG in one decade. During last year's Reliance Industries AGM, Mukesh Ambani had said: “We aim to progressively commence transition from Grey to Green Hydrogen by 2025.”
India's Race To Energy Supremacy
India’s Green Hydrogen mission, launched last year, targets 5 MMT of green hydrogen per annum, which will amount to one-fifth of global production. If this is achieved Indian hydrogen fuel producers would be the new Sheikhs of energy world. Realising it’s huge potential Indian corporates have chalked out very ambitious green hydrogen production plans. According to media reports, Reliance Industries would be investing Rs 5.95 lakh crores for developing 100 GW renewable energy plant and Green Hydrogen eco-system in Gujarat over next decade or so. The group is setting up Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga complex over 5,000 acres of area in Jamnagar. Company also plans to invest over Rs 60,000 crores in PV, Storge, hydrogen technologies, electrolyser manufacturing and additional Rs 15,000 crores to develop value chain. Similarly, the Adani Group also plans to invest over USD 50 billion in Green Hydrogen and associated eco-systems over next decade which will result in One million tonne per annum green hydrogen production capacity before 2030. Likewise, other industrial groups, including the Public Sector Undertakings are also planning to participate in the green hydrogen market.
Green hydrogen energy has top-rated environmental credentials among cleaner burning fuels, with zero carbon emissions. Green hydrogen is the kind of fuel that is produced by electrolysis of water using renewable or green energy. Grey hydrogen is produced by coal or lignite gasification or steam methane reformation of natural gas or methane. Blue hydrogen is produced through natural gas or coal gasification, combined with carbon capture storage or carbon capture use technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
To achieve the ambitious target within a decade, the Indian government and public sector undertakings along with leading corporates in the private sector have come out with mega plans backed by financial grants and an enabling policy framework. Various pilot projects to demonstrate the efficacy of hydrogen fuel has been launched in India, which ranges from road transport, waterways, railway, and various industries. It is expected to completely eliminate the use of petroleum for generating energy in various sectors of economy, thus resulting in saving of over Rs 1 lakh crore in annual petroleum imports after a decade. Green hydrogen will help in meeting climate targets, and India can become a production and export hub of the revolutionary fuel. This will help India attain self-sufficiency in energy sector, thus making the country free of any supply constraints.
If the Indian hydrogen mission succeeds, the world will look up to India with awe and that will increase India’s heft in the world of diplomacy. Achieving one fourth of the world production capacity would go a long way in making India a major producer and supplier of clean fuel to the rest of the world. Green hydrogen industry will not only create lakhs of new jobs but will also give a huge fillip to other sectors of economy. This would strengthen India’s economic and strategic muscle. A Russia-Ukraine war-like situation would not impact Indian economy and affect India’s independent foreign policy. The world oil prices have seen many ups and downs, leading to financial crisis in the country, but India would be free of any financial pressure or the kind of market fluctuations in energy market we see today. This will enable India to maintain strategic autonomy.
The author is a senior journalist and strategic affairs analyst.
[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal.]
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