GOI approves National Green Hydrogen Mission

NEW DELHI: The Government of India has approved the National Green Hydrogen project with an initial capital outlay of ₹19,744 crore. The mission aims to produce five million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030. Anurag Thakur, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, informed that out of the total allocated amount, ₹17,490 crore is to be used for Strategic Interventions and ₹1,466 crore to conduct pilot projects. He also informed that the Research and Development component will also receive ₹400 crore and Rs 388 crore towards other mission components.

The government’s goals under this mission are to increase annual green hydrogen production to five million tonnes, add approximately 125 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, attract over ₹8 lakh crore in investments, create lakhs of jobs, and most importantly, reduce cumulative fossil fuel import bill by over ₹ 1 lakh crore. The mission is expected to help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50 million tonnes.

To facilitate the construction of the Green Hydrogen ecosystem, an enabling policy framework will be created. Additionally, a strong framework for norms and regulations will be created. The Mission will also support a public-private partnership structure for research and development (R&D) called the Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership (SHIP); R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time-bound, and appropriately scaled up to generate globally competitive technologies. Under the Mission, a coordinated skill-development programme will also be implemented.

Due to its advantageous geographic location and the presence of natural resources, India has a significant advantage in the generation of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen, as opposed to grey hydrogen, which is produced using natural gas, is created by electrolyzing water with renewable energy, which results in no carbon dioxide being released.

The launch of the National Hydrogen Mission was announced by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on Independence Day, August 15, 2021. He stated, “Of every effort being made by India today, the thing that is going to help India with a quantum leap in terms of climate is the field of Green Hydrogen. To achieve the goal of Green Hydrogen, I am announcing the National Hydrogen Mission today with this tricolour as a witness.”