On Monday, the government affirmed its commitment towards making India a green hydrogen hub with a trial run of two buses that will operate on this clean fuel. It has plans to roll out 15 more such buses by the end of the year. These vehicles have virtually zero emissions and their fuel cells are much more efficient than internal combustion engines. Hydrogen, produced through a clean process, is rightly seen as a more dependable fuel — bereft of the uncertainties of solar or wind energy. India has an ambitious Green Hydrogen Mission that aims to produce 5 million tonnes of the fuel annually from 2030. The project aims to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore and avert 50 million metric tonnes of GHG emissions. However, several barriers must be overcome before this green fuel becomes commercially viable.
The technology to use electricity to draw hydrogen from water — electrolysis — has been around since the 1800s. The use of renewable energy-generated electricity makes the process green. That’s where the first challenge appears. Experts estimate that India will need to add about 100 GW of RE capacity every year for the next seven years to attain its green hydrogen-related goals — to put things in perspective, it added about 16 GW of RE last year. Moreover, producing 1 kg of this clean fuel requires eight to nine litres of water. Given the water stresses in large parts of the country, making hydrogen production less water-intensive will be a big challenge for the country’s clean fuel programme. According to International Energy Agency data, the global manufacturing capacity of electrolysers — the unit where electrolysis takes place — is about 10 GW. The Green Hydrogen Mission has, therefore, rightly devoted the most sizable chunk of its budget to developing electrolysers. Even then, experts reckon that the country will need to do much more — to attain its 2030 target, India could need six to 10 times the world’s current electrolyser production capacity. Access to rare earth minerals — a market dominated by China — will play a critical role in scaling up electrolyser production capacity. Technological innovations will be required in transporting and storing the highly inflammable green fuel — the safety concern is one reason that buses launched on Monday will not be carrying passengers, to begin with.
The government has done the right thing in tapping into Indian Oil Corporation’s proven capacities for the country’s first green hydrogen vehicle project. To access markets, it will now need to develop more expertise and forge partnerships with other countries.
