Given the opportunities in India’s green hydrogen space, a coalition of energy and industrial firms named India H2 Alliance (IH2A) has come together for commercializing hydrogen technologies and creating a hydrogen economy.
This alliance led by Chart Industries and Reliance Industries Ltd comes against the backdrop of the proposed National Hydrogen Energy Mission, which may mandate fertilizer, steel and petrochemicals industries to shift to green hydrogen.
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“The India H2 Alliance will work together to build the hydrogen economy and supply chain in India and help develop blue and green hydrogen production and storage as well as build hydrogen-use industrial clusters and transport use-cases with hydrogen-powered fuel cells,” according to a press statement.
The government has been urging automakers to develop vehicles that run on cleaner fuels to curb rampant vehicular pollution in most major cities. It thus plans to promote hydrogen vehicles, in addition to rolling out incentives for local manufacturing of lithium-ion cells.
Mint recently reported about Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Tata Motors Ltd, Ashok Leyland Ltd and KPIT Technologies Ltd evincing interest in India’s maiden initiative to run hydrogen-powered fuel cell-based electric cars and buses. NTPC Ltd, India’s largest power generator, plans to issue a tender shortly to procure 20 such vehicles for pilot projects in New Delhi and Leh.
“The India H2 Alliance will focus on industrial clusters, specifically steel, refineries, fertilizer, cement, ports and logistics; as well as heavy-duty transport use cases and the establishment of standards for storage and transport hydrogen in pressurized and liquefied form,” the statement added.
In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to launch a National Hydrogen Energy Mission, buttressing the country’s green energy credentials with the carbon emission-free next-generation fuel.
“IH2A intends to collaborate with private sector partners, the government and the public to ensure that costs of hydrogen production are brought down, a local supply chain for hydrogen and related applications grows and India is able to achieve its net-zero carbon ambitions by developing a hydrogen economy that complements its national renewable energy and EV/battery-technology plans,” the statement said.
India plans to build hydrogen plants that will run on electricity produced by green energy sources and help reduce dependence on fossil fuels. These plants will provide grid-scale storage solutions and provide feedstock for ammonia production.
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