A Green Signal For Hydrogen

Context: The announcement of the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) on August 15, 2021, is a statement of intent India must now capitalise on.

Significance of Green Hydrogen as a self-sufficient clean energy solution for future

• A sustainable solution to India’s huge energy import bill: Which amounts Rs 12 lakh crore a year.
  • The continued coal and oil dependency will further increase this amount 2-3 times.
• Towards zero- or negative-carbon footprint: As green hydrogen is produced using renewable sources of energy like solar and wind.
• Most viable substitute to fossil fuels: This non-fossil fuel-based clean gas that can substitute fossil fuels, especially where electrification is not a viable option.
  • GH can compete with oil today. Hydrogen fuel cell-based trucks would be more fuel-efficient, more economical, and a real alternative to diesel even today.
• Opportunity to capitalize: While developed countries may take longer in transitioning to GH by building new infrastructure or retrofitting existing facilities, they would most likely invest in India for ecological conservation and business objectives.

Way forward

• Immediate policy initiatives are needed to create demand for GH.
  • Providing incentives and sectorial targets for this fuel can kickstart the industry.
  • Policies needed for integration of GH targets with existing Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, and implementation of GH purchase obligation for industries.
  • A long-term policy roadmap is required to decarbonize other sectors such as steel and fertilizers.
• Expand handling and transportation infrastructure: A framework for power transmission superhighway with concessional transmission costs for green power should be Created.
  • India should produce solar and wind power, where it can, at the lowest cost, transmit the power to where hydrogen is required locally.
• Adoption of Green Hydrogen: A National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) can create an ecosystem that supports rapid adoption of GH across sectors.

Conclusion: If India can just do it right in the first go, it will significantly leapfrog to become a global economic leader, and one to do it in a sustainable way.