Green Hydrogen R&D Gets USD 43 Mn Boost

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) An amount of USD 43.3 million has been allocated for research and development (R&D) in the green hydrogen space and USD 13 million sanction for 23 projects, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday.

The Minister for New and Renewable Energy made the remarks in a virtual address to the World Hydrogen India conference organised by S&P Global Commodity Insights in the national capital.

In 2023, the government launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore to produce 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) by FY30.

Joshi said the goal to produce at least 5 MMT of green hydrogen per annum by 2030 will be supported by an addition of 125 GW of renewable energy capacity. It is estimated that this will attract nearly USD 100 billion in investments and create over 6,00,000 jobs.

"We have allocated USD 45.3 million for R&D and have already sanctioned USD 13 million for 23 projects," he said.

To date, 19 green hydrogen production projects with a capacity of over 4,300 tonnes per annum have been commissioned, serving sectors from steel and glass manufacturing to refineries and transport.

"We are running 5 pilot projects to introduce green hydrogen in the steel sector. In surface transport, 5 pilot projects are deploying 37 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and 9 refuelling stations across 10 major routes," the minister said.

Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, the government recently concluded auctions for the supply of 724,000 tonnes of green ammonia to fertiliser industry.

"We discovered a price as low as 49.75 per kilogram. That is approximately 55 US cents per kilogram. So we offer the most competitive prices discovered anywhere in the world. This demonstrates that green hydrogen derivatives in India are rapidly becoming economically competitive," Joshi said.

Incentives for the domestic manufacturing of 3,000 MW of electrolysers annually have also been awarded. Of this, over 1,100 MW of electrolyser manufacturing capacity has already been installed in India.

"We are also fostering a vibrant start-up ecosystem and focusing on skilling our workforce. Already, over 5,800 people have been certified in various green hydrogen job roles. India's green hydrogen journey is moving from vision to action with incredible speed," Joshi said.