[ad_1]
A global supply crunch of electrolysers needed to produce green hydrogen and a lack of domestic manufacturers to make them pose a major challenge to India’s ambitious targets to use the zero-carbon fuel, a government official told Reuters.
India, which unveiled the first phase of its hydrogen policy on Thursday, plans to manufacture 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030, half of the European Union’s 2030 target of 10 million tonnes.
Green hydrogen has the best environmental credentials of the various categories of the clean-burning fuel because it is produced using renewable energy.
For India, it is critical to its plans to cut carbon emissions, but its green hydrogen target would require at least 10 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyser capacity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
“The kind of electrolyser capacity that will be required to realise all these ambitious programmes, they are not available right now in the country,” S. S. V. Ramakumar, a director at the country’s top refiner Indian Oil who helped to frame the country’s hydrogen policy, told Reuters.
“All the production capacity and order books of big global players are booked and overflowing till 2025,” he said.
India will initially import electrolysers, he said adding that state-run refiners planned to form joint ventures with foreign companies manufacturing the equipment.
Power Minister R K Singh said in September India would need at least 10 GW of electrolyser capacity. Global electrolyser capacity was 0.3 GW in 2020, and is expected to reach nearly 17 GW by 2026, an International Energy Agency (IEA) report found in December 2021.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries has said it plans to build an electrolyser unit in western Gujarat state, but it is unclear when the unit will start commercial production.
India expects initial demand to mainly come from refiners and fertiliser firms, followed by the steel industry and transport. India’s refineries are expected to produce 38,000 tonnes of green hydrogen by 2025, Ramakumar said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
[ad_2]
Source link