• The green hydrogen gas is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyzer that may be powered by electricity generated from clean energy sources such as wind and solar or ‘green’ hydrogen.

• Target set for global production of green hydrogen: The global target is to produce 1.45 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2023.
• High consumption demand is fulfilled by high import: India consumes around 5.5 million tonnes of hydrogen, primarily produced from imported fossil fuels.
• High potential of green hydrogen in India in different sectors: In 2030, according to an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), green hydrogen demand could be up to 1 million tonnes in India.
  • The growing interest in hydrogen is triggered by the anticipated steep decline in electrolyser costs.
• Climate change is posing severe economic and social consequences: India has made good progress in decarbonization growing the share of renewable energy, energy efficiency & fuel transition.
  • There is growing interest and hype for using hydrogen in multiple applications such as Hydrogen-based Agro vehicles, Hydrogen-powered passenger trains, Hydrogen in aviation etc.
• India is uniquely positioned to adopt green Hydrogen: The industrial sectors like steel, refining, fertilizer & methanol sectors are attractive for Green Hydrogen adoption as Hydrogen is already being generated & consumed either as a chemical feedstock or a process input.
• India is pushing for a gas-based economy: The share of gas in India’s primary energy mix is far behind the global average of 24%.
  • The government plans to increase this share to 15% by 2030, with gas demand expected to be driven by fertiliser, power, city gas distribution, and steel sectors.

• Cost competitive: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has said in a recent report that currently all hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels. However, by 2050, nearly 80% of India's hydrogen is projected to be green.
  • It is clear that green hydrogen will become the most competitive route for hydrogen production by around 2030 which would be driven by dramatic cost declines in key production technologies such as electrolyzers and solar PV.
• Power source of energy-intensive industries: While wind and solar energy can provide the electricity to power homes and electric cars, green hydrogen could be an ideal power source for energy-intensive industries like concrete and steel manufacturing.
• Addresses the problem of intermittency in existing renewable energy plants: The renewable energy to create the fuel can help solve the problem of intermittency that plagues wind and solar power, and so it is essentially efficient storage.
• Zero emissions from aircraft: The energy density of green hydrogen is three times that of jet fuel, making it a promising zero-emissions technology for aircraft.

• Production centres are situated away from demand centres: The most renewable energy resources that can produce low-cost electricity are situated far from potential demand centres.
• Lack of decarbonization ability of Indian industries: The near-term promise of hydrogen lies in “hard-to-abate” industrial sectors like steel, refining, fertilizer & methanol.
  • These industries contribute to 11 per cent of India’s total emissions and have limited opportunities to decarbonize because fossil fuels play an integral role in their core processes.
• Massive expansion of renewable generation: It is noted that hydrogen fuels need renewable energy to be green, which will require a massive expansion of renewable generation to power the electrolysis plants that split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
• Lack of storage infrastructure: The green hydrogen is hard to store and transport without a pipeline and in some places, hydrogen is lot more expensive than other fuels such as natural gas.
  • Its storage requires compression to 700 times atmospheric pressure, refrigeration to 253 degrees Celsius.

• Decentralization of production of hydrogen: It must be promoted through open access of renewable power to an electrolyser (which splits water to form H2 and O2 using electricity).
  • Wheeling electricity from a solar plant in Kutch to a refinery in Vadodara could lower the transportation cost by 60%, compared to delivering hydrogen using trucks.
• Access to round-the-clock renewable power for decentralised hydrogen production:A green hydrogen facility will typically oversize the electrolyser, and store hydrogen to ensure continuous hydrogen supply.
  • It will minimise intermittency associated with renewable energy, for a given level of hydrogen production capacity.
• Blend of green hydrogen in existing processes: The improvement the reliability of hydrogen supply by augmenting green hydrogen with conventionally produced hydrogen will significantly improve the economics of the fuel.
  • It will also help build a technical understanding of the processes involved in handling hydrogen on a large scale.
• Promotion of investment at early stage of production: The policymakers must facilitate investments in early stage piloting and the research and development needed to advance the technology for use in India.
• Development in domestic manufacturing of green hydrogen: The establishment of end-to-end electrolyser manufacturing facility would require measures extending beyond the existing performance linked incentive programme.
  • India needs to secure supplies of raw materials that are needed for this technology.

As India is scaling up to the target of having 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030,aligning hydrogen production needs with broader electricity demand in the economy would be critical. The public funding will have to lead the way in the development of green hydrogen, but the private sector has significant gains too to be made by securing its energy future. India requires a manufacturing strategy that can leverage the existing strengths and mitigate threats by integrating with the global value chain. The green hydrogen has been anointed the flag-bearer of India's low-carbon transition as Hydrogen may be lighter than air, but it will take some heavy lifting to get the ecosystem in place.