India’s green hydrogen challenge

Source– The post is based on the article “India’s green hydrogen challenge” published in The Hindu on 10th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS3- Infrastructure: Energy

Relevance– Renewable sources of energy

News– On India’s 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Hydrogen Mission to make the country a production and export hub of green hydrogen.

What are some facts about the National Hydrogen Mission?

It has an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore over the next five years. The target is 5 million metric tonnes production per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW by 2030.

It will lead to savings of $12.5 billion from fuel imports, averting 50 MMTs of annual emissions of Carbon dioxide, fresh investments of $100 billion, and 6,00,000 green jobs.

What are challenges in production and use of green hydrogen?

Electrolyser challenge: According to IEA, as of 2021 the global manufacturing capacity of electrolysers stands at 8 GW/year.

If India were to achieve its 2030 target, it would need 60-100 GW of electrolyser capacity. It is almost 12 times the current global production capacity.

India currently has launched projects to manufacture electrolysers, but the actual numbers as of today are negligible.

Access to critical minerals such as nickel, platinum group metals and rare earth metals could hinder scaling up electrolyser manufacturing capability in India.

These resources are concentrated in countries such as China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Chile and Peru. India also has limited processing capabilities in these minerals.

Energy source challenge: As per current estimates a completely efficient electrolysis system would require 39 kWh of electricity to produce 1 kg of hydrogen. Green hydrogen requires renewable energy as a source of electricity.

India currently estimates a capacity of 125 GW of renewable energy to meet its green hydrogen 2030 targets. So far India has only achieved 119 GW of the 175 GW targeted capacity using solar, wind, bio-power and small hydro.

In addition to the generation capacity, the transmission capacity for cross-border exchange of power between states is a critical requirement.

End use challenge: Currently, most of the demand for hydrogen comes from the chemical industry to produce ammonia for fertilisers, refining for hydrocracking and the desulphurisation of fuels.

It can be a source of heat for industries such as steel, cement and aluminium production. It can be used as fuel for heavy duty vehicles, aviation and shipping.

The conversion efficiency from one form of energy carrier to another in the end use application will determine the scale of green hydrogen’s applicability.

Hydrogen is a highly combustible and volatile element. Its potency in other forms such as ammonia or methanol is only relatively reduced.

It is critical to establish safety standards for storage and transportation. It will add to the cost of hydrogen as a fuel.

Endogenous resources challenge: In the case of India, approximately 50 billion litres of demineralised water supply will be required for production of green hydrogen.

Several parts of India are already severely water-stressed. So, solutions need to be found to cater to this additional water demand.

Desalination has been suggested. But, this will increase the physical footprint of the required infrastructure. It will lead to more land use, impact biodiversity and create limitations in the location of electrolysers.

What is the way forward to overcome these challenges?

India needs to set up large scale manufacturing for electrolysers, building expertise and securing geo-political partnerships for procurement of critical minerals. There is a need for improving the overall technical and economic viability of electrolysers.

Proposed green hydrogen hubs will be required to strike a fine balance between availability of renewable energy and being close to hydrogen demand centres for economic feasibility.

India needs to add close to 100 GW of overall renewable energy capacity per year over the next seven years and. Dispatch corridors and mechanisms should be made available..