Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed a pact with Norway-based electrolyzer technology and manufacturer HydrogenPro AS to set up a manufacturing unit in India that aims to tap opportunities in green hydrogen space in the country and other geographies, the Indian engineering major said in a statement on January 27.
As per the memorandum of understanding, L&T and HydrogenPro will jointly work towards setting up of a gigawatt-scale manufacturing unit for alkaline water electrolyzers based on HydrogenPro technology. In December, L&T tied up with Nasdaq-listed ReNew Power to jointly develop, own, execute and operate green hydrogen projects in India.
The planned joint venture in India is a part of L&T’s strategy to expand its presence across the green energy value chain. It will help HydrogenPro establish a global manufacturing footprint to maintain cost leadership and ensure local presence.
“The energy industry is undergoing a tectonic shift with green hydrogen emerging as a key fuel in the future energy basket…This will be a win-win partnership given our extensive relationship across the energy industry, deep EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) experience in this sector and successful ongoing collaborations with many MNCs and HydrogenPro’s focus to stay ahead of the curve as far as technology leadership is concerned,” SN Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director of L&T was quoted as saying in the statement.
Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are betting on green hydrogen too and their respective groups are looking at technology partnerships to bring the new technology to India for mass production.
In October last year, Reliance Industries, through its unit Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL) signed a pact with Danish company Stiesdal A/S for hydrogen electrolyzer, as part of a strategy to expand its clean energy portfolio through partnerships. The Adani Group has said that it aims to be one of the largest green hydrogen producers in the world and has plans to invest with potential partners for electrolyzer manufacturing in the country.
‘Green hydrogen’ is pitched to be the next big thing in the global energy market, as it derives energy from hydrogen produced by splitting water using renewable electricity. While the technology is still at an early stage, energy majors across the world are eyeing it as it can provide large-scale energy through a completely clean process. The process requires electrolyzers for splitting water into elemental oxygen and hydrogen.
Technology companies, especially in Europe and US, have been working on commercial production of green hydrogen. India provides the scale that can help them reduce costs.
“We’re extremely pleased to enter this Memorandum of Understanding with L&T, an E&C powerhouse which is the perfect partner to establish HydrogenPro in the Indian market, a huge and growing energy market with tremendous potential for hydrogen-based solutions,” said Elling Nygaard, CEO of HydrogenPro.
Green Hydrogen demand in India is estimated to grow up to two million ton per year by 2030 in line with the nation’s Green Hydrogen Mission, which estimates an investments of over $60 billion in the sector.
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