India's ambition to establish itself as a key contender in the international hydrogen market received a boost with Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Greenko Group and Welspun New Energy emerging as the top bidders in a global tender to construct green hydrogen and green ammonia facilities at Gujarat’s Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kandla.
"The tender will be awarded to four companies including Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Welspun New Energy and Greenko, who have emerged as the four highest bidders," a senior DPA official told Moneycontrol.
The last date for submitting bids for the tender worth Rs 95,000 crore was March 14 and they were opened on March 20. DPA received 13 expressions of interest to a global call for applications to develop a green hydrogen hub at the port.
Reliance, L&T, Greenko and Welspun did not immediately respond to queries sent by Moneycontrol during market hours.
"The contracts for the tenders have not been signed yet as the Model Code of Conduct kicked in before the bids were opened," a second DPA official said.
The DPA plans to allot 14 plots of 300 acres each. Each plot is earmarked for 1 million tonnes per annum of green ammonia.
On March 27 last year, Moneycontrol was the first to report that Kandla and Tuticorin would be India's first green hydrogen ports. India's hydrogen demand is expected to reach 12 million tonnes by 2030 and 28 million tonnes by 2050.
Energy independence
In Kandla, the DPA plans to develop a 7 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) plant to produce green ammonia and a 1.4 MMTPA plant for green hydrogen.
The move comes as India aims to achieve energy independence by 2047 and net-zero emissions by 2070, with green hydrogen expected to play a pivotal role.
In November 2023, the government launched the National Centre of Excellence for Green Port and Shipping to help major ports source as much as 60 percent of their energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind. Currently, less than 10 percent of the energy demand at major ports is met by green energy.
Indian ports aim to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent per tonne of cargo handled by 2030. India already supplies shore power to ships with a power demand of less than 150 kW and is targeting to supply shore power to all visiting vessels.
Shore power, or shore supply, is the provision of shoreside electrical power to a berthed ship while its main and auxiliary engines are shut down. It saves fuel that would otherwise be used to power vessels while in port and eliminates the associated air pollution.
With the implementation of such projects, green hydrogen and green ammonia will be used to produce shore power at ports in India to reduce carbon emissions.
Last year, the government released the blueprint for the ambitious National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) with a total initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, of which Rs 17,490 crore will be for production-linked incentive schemes for producing green hydrogen and manufacturing electrolysers.
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