New Delhi: In a significant step towards Green Hydrogen Economy, India  has commissioned its first 99.999 percent pure Green Hydrogen pilot plant, with an installed capacity of 10 kg per day at Jorhat in Assam.
The plant was commissioned by India Oil  Pump at its pump station at Jorhat in a record time of 3 months.
“The plant produces Green Hydrogen from the electricity generated by the existing 500kW Solar plant using a 100 kW Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Electrolyser array. The use of AEM technology is being used for the first time in India” said the statement.
On August 15, 2021, Prime Minister Modi announced a National Hydrogen Mission to make India a Global Hub for Green Hydrogen Production .
In November 2021 at COP 26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Modi made five commitments—achieve Net Zero by 2070, and by 2030, take cumulative non fossil fuel generation capacity to 500 GW, meet 50 percent of energy needs from renewable energy, reduce the energy intensity of the economy by 45 percent, and reduce carbon emissions by 1 billion tons.
Speaking on the occasion, Sushil Chandra Mishra, Chairman & Managing Director of Oil India limited, said that the company has taken an important step towards fulfilling the vision of our Prime Minister for an Atmanirbhar India.
“This plant is expected to increase its production of green hydrogen from 10 kg per day to 30 kg per day in future,” he added.
Mishra said
“The company has initiated a detailed study in collaboration with IIT Guwahati on blending of Green Hydrogen with Natural Gas and its effect on the existing infrastructure of OIL. The company also plans to study use cases for commercial applications of the blended fuel” he said.
The government has issued the Green Hydrogen policy under which Green Hydrogen producers will be granted a waiver of inter-state transmission charges for 25 years from projects set up before June 2025, and Green H2 manufacturers will be allowed to buy renewable power from power exchange or set up renewable energy capacity themselves, or through any other developer.
Equity research firm Edelweiss in its latest report said, Given India’s very low renewable energy cost advantage, the cost of Green Hydrogen in the country is poised to fall to about one fourth of global levels of Green as well as Grey Hydrogen to less than $1 per Kilogram, potentially making the country the lowest-cost producer,”
The firm added that the country’s National Hydrogen Mission would help achieve these objectives. India is already the third-largest producer and consumer of grey Hydrogen from coal, gas and petroleum products, refineries account for 54 per cent of consumption and fertilizers largely the balance.
