The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the much-awaited National Green Hydrogen Mission with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said in a press briefing in New Delhi on January 4.
Of the Rs 19,744 crore outlay for the mission, the government has earmarked Rs 17,490 crore (88.6 percent) solely for incentives on the production of green hydrogen and manufacturing of electrolysers, which the government has termed Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT).
That apart, Rs 1,466 crore will be for pilot projects, Rs 400 crore for research and development (R&D), and Rs 388 crore towards other mission components.
The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) will formulate the scheme guidelines for implementation of the respective components, the Union minister said.
#Cabinet approves National Green Hydrogen MissionMission aims to make India a Global Hub for production, utilization and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives#CabinetDecisions pic.twitter.com/opw8xDULT8
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“Nearly Rs 13,000 crore of the Rs 17,490 crore will be given as incentives for the production of green hydrogen and the remaining amount (Rs 4,490 crore) will be for manufacturing of electrolysers. With this mission, the aim of the government is not just to be self-sufficient in green hydrogen, but also to make India a major exporter of gas. India will be a global hub of green hydrogen,” Thakur said in the press conference.
Under the programme, regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or utilisation of hydrogen will be identified and developed as “Green Hydrogen Hubs”.
Via the Mission, the government aims to create 50 lakh tonnes or 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen production capacity every year till 2029-2030. For this, 60-100 gigawatt (GW) of electrolyser capacity will be created and 125 GW of renewable energy capacity addition will be done.
Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy through electrolysis.
Union power and renewable energy minister RK Singh said the National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the Cabinet, will make India a global hub for the production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen. “It will reduce India's dependence on fossil fuel import, with likely cumulative import bill savings of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030,” he said.
The government expects that the programme will attract investments of more than Rs 8 lakh crore and that it would create over six lakh jobs. The cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports through this programme has been pegged at about Rs 1 lakh crore along with the abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways. An enabling policy framework will be developed to support the establishment of a green hydrogen ecosystem. A robust Standards and Regulations framework will be also developed,” the power ministry later said in a statement.
“Further, a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) will be facilitated under the Mission; R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time-bound, and suitably scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies. A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken under the Mission,” it stated.
The mission will be headed by the cabinet secretary and an empowered group of secretaries.
Industry stakeholders welcomed the move. Vineet Mittal, Chairperson, Avaada Group said this intervention is even more significant because it comes at a time when India has the G20 presidency. “It will clearly showcase India’s commitment to lead the global energy transition. Indian hydrogen demand is anticipated to see a five-fold jump to 28 MT by 2050, along with tremendous opportunities that exist for exports. This intervention will help Indian developers cater to the requirement and augment the ongoing efforts to reach the target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2070,” he said.
Gautam Mohanka, Managing Director, Gautam Solar said India’s dependency on fossil fuels has been a matter of concern, given that the country’s power consumption demands are likely to soar massively over the next 20 years.
“Gautam Solar looks forward to empowering local players and businesses in using solar power for green hydrogen production and usage. We hope that the government will eventually make it mandatory for select industries to use green hydrogen and solar power to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. We also see this as a prospect for the indigenous production of power components, panels, and parts,” Mohanka said.
On February 17, 2022, the government notified the first part of the National Hydrogen Mission policy on green hydrogen and green ammonia. The ministry, in that notification, waived the power transmission charges for 25 years for these units, allowed them to buy renewable power from exchanges or their own unit and allowed these companies to bank unconsumed renewable power for up to 30 days with power distribution companies (discom). These companies will be provided open access within 15 days of application.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman first revealed about India’s plan to harness green hydrogen in her 2021 budget speech. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Hydrogen Energy Mission in his Independence Day speech in August.
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