India seeks to tap Scandinavian nations for clean energy tech
2 min read 20 Mar 2023, 11:26 PM ISTRK Singh likely to visit Finland in Sep to explore international cooperation in renewable tech
PremiumNew Delhi: Renewable energy minister R.K. Singh is likely to visit Finland in September to give concrete shape to India’s focus on developing a green hydrogen ecosystem, by exploring international cooperation in renewable energy technology.
During his visit, the minister is expected to review how hydrogen clusters in Finland and the rest of Scandinavia are able to generate power.
“He is expected to visit hydrogen clusters in Finland and Scandinavia to see how these clusters are able to power the grid and will also study applicability of these systems to India’s power grid," said a person aware of the development.
Another person in the know said the visit was initially scheduled for March-end but it had to be rescheduled due to G20 meetings.
India as president of the G20 is hosting a series of meetings this year where too global energy security is an area of focus.
The minister is expected to visit technical universities in the country including the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Singh may also meet officials of SITRA, a Finnish government think-tank and innovation fund.
Queries sent to the ministries of new and renewable energy, external affairs and the Finnish embassy in Delhi remained unanswered till press time.
India and Finland both have ambitious plans for green hydrogen. While India’s Union cabinet this year approved a national green hydrogen mission, the Finnish government on 9 February adopted a resolution on measures to promote green hydrogen.
Finland’s goal is to become Europe’s leader in the hydrogen economy in the entire value chain. The country has the capacity to produce at least 10% of the European Union’s green hydrogen by 2030. India too has its own goal to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen per annum by 2030. The country is also aiming at becoming a net exporter of green hydrogen and a major player in the global supply chain. The central government expects its green hydrogen mission to attract investments worth ₹8 trillion by 2030.
India is already engaged with the European Union for the development of green hydrogen. Last September, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, and Singh inaugurated the first EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum. In October last year, India and France adopted an ‘Indo-French Roadmap on the Development of Green Hydrogen’.
Last April, the Finnish minister for economic affairs Mika Lintila visited India. During his visit, he met Singh, where the Indian power minister highlighted India’s achievements in the renewable energy sector and the Nationally Determined Contribution (NCD) set by the country as per the Paris Agreement.
Singh had urged the Finnish businesses to collaborate and work on opportunities in the renewable energy sector in India. Both the ministers had stressed the need to promote and strengthen the cooperation between Finland and India specially in the energy sector.
The Finnish side had expressed their interest to collaborate with India in the area of efficient production of green hydrogen and green ammonia, as well as storage, use in transportation sector, recycling of batteries, and smart metering software.
