Building Pune: Approved by Centre, PMC’s ambitious plan to produce green Hydrogen fails to take off, here’s why

“The project cost is estimated to be Rs 420 crore and the company that was to start it has expressed inability to raise this big amount. It has urged the PMC to provide Rs 256 crore for the project due to which the implementation has been delayed,” said Sandeep Kadam, head of civic solid waste management department.

The PMC has set-up a Technical Advisory Committee to study the feasibility of the project, he said adding that the civic body is yet to decide on providing financial assistance to the company implementing the project.

In December 2022, the private company had got the approval of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for the project to produce hydrogen gas from waste.

Earlier, the company was to make an investment of Rs 375 crore for the project and operate it for 30 years. The PMC has provided 5.59 acre of its land at Ramtekdi Industrial Estate in Hadapsar for the project and would pay Rs 347 per metric tonne of waste as a tipping fee to the company for processing the waste.

The plant would produce 50 metric tonne of bio-fertiliser and nine metric tonnes of hydrogen by processing 350 metric tonne of waste every day.

The technology for the purpose has been indigenously developed in association with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).