Explained: National Green Hydrogen Policy, How It Could Help In Battle Against Global Warming
The central government announced the first section of the much-anticipated National Hydrogen Policy, allowing renewable energy to be used to produce green hydrogen and ammonia to flow freely.
The central government announced the first section of the much-anticipated National Hydrogen Policy, allowing renewable energy to be used to produce green hydrogen and ammonia to flow freely.
The Ministry of Power stated in a press release that the government is taking a number of steps to make the transition from fossil fuel to green hydrogen/green ammonia as smooth as possible.
For these units, the ministry has eliminated power transmission expenses for 25 years, allowing them to purchase renewable energy from exchanges or their own units, and permitted them to bank unutilized renewable energy with power distribution firms for up to 30 days (discom). Within 15 days of their application, these businesses will have open access.
"The Mission aims to aid the government in meeting its climate targets and making India a green hydrogen hub. This will help in meeting the target of production of 5 million tonnes of Green hydrogen by 2030 and the related development of renewable energy capacity," the official statement released by the ministry said.
What is Green Hydrogen?
The hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water when the entire process is powered by renewable energy is referred to as green hydrogen. According to industry colour coding, the source of power used to make the hydrogen molecule determines its colour: brown hydrogen for coal, grey hydrogen for natural gas, and blue hydrogen for methane.
¡°The policy promotes Renewable Energy (RE) generation as RE will be the basic ingredient in making green hydrogen. This in turn will help in meeting the international commitments for clean energy,¡± the ministry said.
This is the first phase of the policy, according to industry participants, which will provide a favourable regulatory and enabling environment for green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturers.
The government has responded to industry concerns about renewable energy transmission availability by indicating that it will support the whole supply chain.
Why is it important?
As concerns about climate change and global warming grow, there is a growing consensus around the world that coordinated action is required to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and, if possible, to keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
A number of countries have shown their willingness to contribute to the energy transition and reduction of emissions. Most major economies, including India, have committed to net-zero targets, and the transition to green hydrogen and green ammonia is one of the most important requirements for reducing emissions, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors, as well as its ability to generate large amounts of energy with a low carbon footprint.
Experts anticipate that the green energy sector will take off in the next several years, thanks to recent technological developments, lower prices that are getting closer to being competitive with conventional energy, and government incentives.
Involvement of both public and private sectors
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 'National Hydrogen Mission' from the Red Fort on Independence Day last year, with the goal of accelerating the growth of green hydrogen in India and achieving energy independence. The first section of the ministry's national hydrogen policy was announced on 17 February.
The statement reads that, "the implementation of this policy will provide clean fuel to the common people of the country. This will reduce dependence on fossil fuel and also reduce crude oil imports. The objective also is for our country to emerge as an export hub for green hydrogen and green ammonia."
Private sector enterprises have made promises to work on green hydrogen production even before the ministry published the strategy. Green hydrogen supply chain investments have been announced by Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro, and Greenko. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), GAIL (India) Ltd, and NTPC Ltd are all interested in entering the market.
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