Greenko orders 28 electrolysers from Belgium’s John Cockerill in hydrogen push

New Delhi: Greenko Group on Thursday said Belgium’s John Cockerill will supply 28 units of 5MW alkaline electrolysers to the company for use in its green ammonia plant in Una, Himachal Pradesh.

“The 300-metric-tonne-per-day plant being jointly developed by Greenko ZeroC (GZC), a subsidiary of Greenko Group, and John Cockerill, will be the largest green ammonia plant in India to date and will contribute to the country’s efforts to build large-scale green hydrogen production capacity,” the company said in a statement.

The electrolyser units will enable hydrogen production capacity of 140MW through high-pressure alkaline electrolysis, with the highest levels of purity (99.999%).

The electrolysers are due to be delivered in March 2024 and the plant is set to be commissioned by June 2024, it added.

The order takes place within the framework of the strategic partnership agreement that Greenko and John Cockerill signed in March 2022 to work on projects that will advance the creation of a green hydrogen ecosystem in the Indian subcontinent. As part of this agreement, John Cockerill and Greenko are also jointly developing a two-gigawatt-per-year electrolyser manufacturing plant in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

“This order represents a major milestone in our cooperation with industry front-runner Greenko on the Indian green hydrogen market. As a technological world leader, we are proud to support through this initiative the Union Cabinet of India to make its National Green Hydrogen Mission a success,” said François Michel, CEO, John Cockerill.

Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyzer powered by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

“Greenko is working towards reindustrialisation solutions for a low-carbon economy and is committed to contributing to the success of India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission. We are partnering with a world-class technology partner in John Cockerill, and this agreement is the latest example of our tangible efforts to accelerate India’s green hydrogen ambitions as part of a wider program that will see India run the world’s largest energy transition programme,” said Anil Chalamalasetty, CEO & MD, Greenko.

India’s total hydrogen demand is expected to touch 11.7 million metric tonnes (mmt) by 2029-30 from the current 6.7 mmt. Around 54% or 3.6 mmt of India’s annual hydrogen consumption of 6.7 mmt is used in petroleum refining and the rest in fertiliser production. This, however, is ‘grey’ hydrogen produced from fossil fuels such as natural gas or naphtha.

In January 2023, the Union Cabinet approved the ₹19,744-crore National Green Hydrogen Mission with the objective of making India a major exporter in the field and a global hub for the production, use, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives. The development will help India, one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, according to the government.