Green Hydrogen

Indian Prime Minister recently announced the National Hydrogen Mission.

National Hydrogen Mission

• Budget 2021 found mention of Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 for generating Hydrogen from green power sources.
• Accordingly, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has drafted a National Hydrogen Energy Mission.
• It aims to scale up Green Hydrogen production and utilization across multiple sectors.

 Green hydrogen

• Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyser powered by electricity from green energy sources such as wind and solar.
• When burnt, it gives out water vapour, with no residue or climate-harming impact.
• Green hydrogen is aided by:
• Global energy transition toward renewables
• Declining costs
• Breakthroughs in technology – electrolyzer capacity projects
• High carbon taxes

The cost of producing green hydrogen could drop below $2 per kg in 10 years, if accompanied by scale, both in production and consumption.

Possibly, 22% of the global energy need by 2050 could be hydrogen-based.

Challenges

• A lot of energy for the electrolysis of water is needed.
• Unless this electricity is produced with a zero-carbon footprint, it defeats the key aspect of ‘green’ hydrogen.

Advantages

• Transform India from an energy-deficient to an energy-rich country.
• Make India a net exporter of energy.
• Play a key role in decarbonization efforts.
• Significantly reduce import dependence– India spends $160 billion on imports of crude oil, liquified natural gas, coal and fertilizer.
• Solar-to-hydrogen also solves an intermittence problem, as hydrogen substitutes the need for battery storage.

 Applications

• • Transportation, including trucks, buses, cars and rail.
  • Feedstock for fertilizers, chemicals and refineries.
  • Decarbonizing buildings and decarbonizing high-heat industries such as steel-making.
  • Hydrogen fuel cells – A key complement to batteries.
  • Grid-scale storage solutions and feedstock for ammonia production(thus eliminating the need for natural gas).

• Blending hydrogen with natural gas in city gas pipelines reduces the import of natural gas.