State-run Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and clean energy company ReNew Power have signed an agreement to form a joint venture to collaborate for green hydrogen. The three companies will hold equal stake in the joint venture.
Around the same time, L&T has entered into a binding contract with IOCL to form another joint venture with equity participation to manufacture and sell electrolysers, used in the production of green hydrogen.
In February, the government announced the first part of the National Hydrogen Mission policy on green hydrogen and green ammonia, aimed to boost production of hydrogen and ammonia using renewable energy.
Also Read: Govt announces step one of National Hydrogen mission to boost green hydrogen, ammonia manufacturing
“The IndianOil-L&T-ReNew JV will focus on developing green hydrogen projects in a time-bound manner to supply green hydrogen at an industrial scale,” said SN Subrahmanyan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, L&T.
The joint venture will leverage on L&T’s engineering, procurement and construction expertise, IOCL’s experience in chemical processes and refining that provide research and development capabilities in many aspects of the green hydrogen value chain, and ReNew Power’s presence in renewable energy.
“To start with, this partnership will focus on green hydrogen projects at our Mathura and Panipat refineries. Alongside, other green hydrogen projects in India will also be evaluated. While the usage of hydrogen in the mobility sector will take its due time, however, the refineries will be the pivot around which India’s green hydrogen revolution will materialize in a substantial way,” IndianOil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said.
Green hydrogen refers to the hydrogen generated from electrolysis of water when the entire process is run on renewable energy. On the last Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘National Hydrogen Mission’ from the Red Fort with the ambition to boost the growth of green hydrogen in the country to work towards being energy independent.
“The timing for these proposed JVs is excellent as they will help support the Government of India’s recently announced green hydrogen policy to boost India Inc.’s decarbonisation journey,” Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, said.
Countries across the world are looking at the green hydrogen technology which offers scalability in clean energy as climate change and global warming concerns worsen.
India’s estimated demand for hydrogen is 12 metric million tonnes (MMT) by 2030. While most of the hydrogen produced in India today comes from coal and gas, around 40 percent of the element produced in the country, around 5 MMT, is expected to be from green sources by 2030, as per the government.
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