India’s plan to develop green hydrogen

Source: The post is based on the article “India’s plan to develop green hydrogen” published in The Hindu on 6th January 2023

What is the News?

The Union Cabinet has approved a National Green Hydrogen mission that aims to make India a ‘global hub’ for using, producing and exporting green hydrogen.

What is Green Hydrogen?

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Why was the National Green Hydrogen mission launched?

Green hydrogen currently accounts for less than 1% of global hydrogen production due to it being expensive to produce. 

A kilogram of black hydrogen costs $0.9-1.5 to produce while grey hydrogen costs $1.7-2.3 and blue hydrogen can cost anywhere from $1.3-3.6. 

However, green hydrogen costs $3.5-5.5 per kg, according to a 2020 analysis by the Council for Energy, Environment and Water.

The mission aims to reduce this cost by incentivising the commercial production of green hydrogen and making India a net exporter of fuel. 

What are the key features of the National Green Hydrogen mission?

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What are the challenges ahead?

Green hydrogen development is still in the nascent stages globally.

India can take the lead in being a major producer of Green Hydrogen. But there are certain challenges ahead such as:

Firstly, India doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure yet to execute all these intermediary steps.

Secondly, it needs to announce incentives to convince enough users of industrial hydrogen to adopt green hydrogen. 

Thirdly, it needs to develop supply chains in the form of pipelines, tankers, intermediate storage and last-leg distribution networks.

Lastly, it also needs to put in place an effective skill development programme to ensure that lakhs of workers can be suitably trained to adapt to a viable green hydrogen economy.