Hydrogen is one of the most abundant element on earth for a cleaner alternative fuel option.
Type of hydrogen depend upon the process of its formation.
Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy (like solar, wind) and has a lower carbon footprint.
Brown hydrogenis produced using coal where the emission are released to the air.
Gray hydrogenis produced from natural gas where the associated emission are released to the air.
Blue hydrogenis produced from natural gas, where the emission are captured using carbon capture and storage.
Uses : Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source and can deliver or store a tremandus amount of energy.
Regarding heating and electricity, green hydrogen can replace natural gas and helps in reducing green house gas emissions.Also used in existing pipeline to power various domestic appliances
Domestic usage
Industrial
Hydrogen mainly used in chemical and petrochemical industry, as well as in steel Industry.Green hydrogen can prove to be a better attention in these industrial sector.
Fuel Cell Fuel cells and battery convert chemical energy into electrical energy.A hydrogen fuel cell is an electro chemical device that converts specifically hydrogen into electrical energy.
World Wide current status
Less then 1% of hydrogen produced is green hydrogen.
Manufacturing and deployment of electrolysers will have to increase at an unprecedented rate by 2050 from the current capacity of 0.3 GW to almost 5000 G.W.
Indian Scenerio
Consumption of Hydrogen : India consumes about six million tonnes of hydrogen every year for the production of ammonia and methanol in industrial sectors, including fertilisers and refineries.
This could increase to 28 mn tonnes by 2050, Principally due to rising demand from the industry but also due to the expansion of Transport and power sectors.
Cost of Green Hydrogen : By 2030 the cost of green hydrogen is expected to complete with that of hydro carbon fuels (coal, crude oil, Natural gas)
The price will decrease further as production and sales increase. it is also projected that india’s hydrogen demand will increase five folds by 2050.
Exporter of Green hydrogen : India will become a net exporter of green hydrogen by 2030 due to its cheap renewable energy tarrifs.
Benefits of Using Green hydrogen for India: Green hydrogen can drive “India’s Transition to clean energy”, combat “climate change”
Under the Paris Climate Agreement, India pledged to reduce the emission intensity of its economy by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030.
It will reduce Import dependency of fossil fuels.
The localisation of electrolyser production and the development of green hydrogen projects can create a new green technologies market in india worth $ 18-20 bn and thousands of jobs.
Potential
India has a favourable geographic location and abundance of sunlight and wind for the production of green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen technology is being promoted in sectors where direct electrification isn’t feasible.
Heavy duty, long range transport, some industrial sectors and long- term storage in the power sector are some of these sectors.
The ministry of new and Renewable energy (MNRE) has circulated a draft cabinet note to establish a hydrogen ecosystem in India.
The nascent stage of this industry allows for the creation of regional hubs that export high value green products and engineering, procurement and construction services.
Challenges
Economic Sustainability : One of the biggest challenges faced by the industry for using hydrogen commercially is the economic sustainability of extracting green hydrogen.
For transportation fuel cells, hydrogen must be cost-competitive with convectional fuels and technologies on a per-mile basis
High cost and lack of supporting Infrastructure :
Fuel cells which convert hydrogen fuel to usable energy for cars are still expensive.
The hydrogen station infrastructure needed to refuel hydrogen fuel cell cars is still widely under developed.
Government Step The Union Budget for 2021-22 has announced a National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHM) that will draw up a road map for using hydrogen as an energy source.
Green Hydrogen Policy
Under the policy, the government is offering to set up manufacturing zones for production, connectivity to the ISTS (inter-state transmission system) on priority basis, and free transmission for 25 yrs if the production facility is commissioned before June 2025.
This mean that a green hydrogen producer will be able to set up a solar power plant in Rajasthan to supply renewable energy to a green hydrogen Plant in Assam and would not be required to pay any inter-state transmission charges.
Besides, the producers will be allowed to set up bunkers near ports for storage of green ammonia for export by shipping.
Manufactures of green hydrogen and ammonia are allowed to purchase renewable power from the power exchange or set up Renewable Energy (RE) Capacity themselves or through any other developer, anywhere.
It provides facility for producers to bank any surplus renewable energy generated with discoms (Power distribution companies) for upto 30 days and use it as required.
