India will emerge as most competitive source of green hydrogen & ammonia for world: Minister

Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy R.K. Singh on Thursday chaired an interaction with stakeholders and said that India will emerge as the most competitive source of green hydrogen and ammonia for the world. 

The meeting was held a day after the Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore.

“The Mission would result in attractive investment and business opportunities for the industry, contribute significantly to India’s efforts for decarbonization and energy independence, and also create opportunities for employment and economic development,” Singh told stakeholders.

The Minister expressed confidence that the country will achieve the five million metric tonnes of annual production of green hydrogen before the deadline of 2030.

The targeted production capacity will bring over ₹8 lakh crore in total investments and will result in creation of over 6 lakh jobs.

The Minister further stated that the Mission will drive the development of the Green Hydrogen ecosystem in the country through an array of measures towards demand creation, strengthening the supply side while working on regulatory framework, technology and innovation to enhance affordability of green hydrogen. 

Singh also informed that the Mission will support pilot projects in other hard-to-abate sectors like steel, long-range heavy-duty mobility, shipping, energy storage etc. for replacing fossil fuels and fossil fuel-based feedstocks with Green Hydrogen and its derivatives. 

The Mission will also support R&D projects and develop a robust framework for Regulations, Standards and Certification. 

Carbon-free hydrogen, which can be used as fuel in automobiles and as an energy source in industries such as oil refineries and steel plants, is produced by splitting water. When electricity generated from renewable sources such as the sun is used to split water through electrolysis, green hydrogen is produced. Oxygen is a by-product of such a process.