Green Hydrogen: PM Modi calls for action on climate change: Rediff Moneynews

New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday stressed the need to focus on new areas of energy transformation, such as green hydrogen, to tackle climate change, adding that it is not a matter of the future but requires action now.

Speaking in a video message at the 2nd International Green Hydrogen Conference in India 2024, Modi said, “We are increasingly realizing that climate change is not just a matter of the future. The impacts of climate change are being felt here and now. The time to act is also here and now.”

He believed that energy transformation and sustainable development had become central elements of the global political discourse.

He noted that green hydrogen is emerging as a promising addition to the global energy landscape and could help decarbonize industries that are difficult to electrify.

Refineries, the fertilizer industry, steelmaking, heavy transport – many of these sectors will benefit, he stressed.

He opined that green hydrogen can also serve as a solution for storing surplus renewable energy, noting that India has already launched a National Green Hydrogen Mission in 2023.

The event is aimed at taking forward the Green Hydrogen Mission, for which the government has allocated Rs 19,744 crore. “We want India to become a global hub for the production, use and export of Green Hydrogen,” Modi said.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission provides a boost to innovation, infrastructure, industry and investment.

“We are investing in cutting-edge research and development. Partnerships are being created between industry and academia. Startups and entrepreneurs who are working in this field are being encouraged,” he added.

There is also a lot of potential for the development of an ecosystem of green jobs. To enable this, we are also working on developing skills for our youth in this sector, he said.

Modi said climate change and energy transition are global issues. “Our responses must also be global. International partnerships are key to promoting the decarbonisation impact of Green Hydrogen,” he said.

In his opinion, through cooperation it is possible to increase the scale of production more quickly, reduce costs and build infrastructure.

“We also need to jointly invest in research and innovation to push the technology further. In September 2023, the G20 summit was held in India. At that summit, there was a special focus on green hydrogen,” he said.

Giving the scientists something to think about, he asked: “Can we improve the efficiency of electrolyzers and other components in Green Hydrogen production? Can we explore the use of seawater and municipal wastewater for production? How can we enable the use of Green Hydrogen in public transport, shipping and inland waterways?”

He believes that jointly exploring these topics will greatly help in the transition to green energy worldwide.

Referring to the commitments made in Paris, he said they had been met nine years ahead of the 2030 target. He noted that in the last 10 years, India’s installed non-fossil fuel generation capacity has increased by almost 300 per cent.

“But we are not resting on our laurels. We continue to focus on strengthening existing solutions. We are also looking at new and innovative areas. This is where Green Hydrogen comes into play,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said that given its wide range of applications in fertiliser, steel, automobile, shipbuilding and glass industries, green hydrogen will have ample export opportunities.

“This growing sector will bring in a total investment of over Rs 8 lakh crore and create employment for over 6 lakh people in the country,” he said.

Moreover, with the Green Hydrogen Mission, we are confident that we will be able to reduce the import of natural gas and ammonia, which will lead to a total saving of Rs 1 lakh crore, he stressed.

The mission is also providing support for mobility projects, shipping and port projects, and low-carbon steel projects. This will lead to the avoidance of 50 MMT of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, he noted.

On the issue of electrolyser production, he said there had been an overwhelming response from bidders as the bids submitted were almost twice the quantity offered. About 3 GW of annual production capacity had been awarded to 15 companies and would be supported for a period of five years, he said.

In this respect, he stated that the total production capacity incentivised under the SIGHT (Strategic Interventions for the Transition to Green Hydrogen) initiative will be 15 GW.

He informed that under the first tranche, 4.12 lakh TPA of green hydrogen production capacity has been awarded to 10 companies.

Another tender for production of 4.5 Lakh TPA of Green Hydrogen is currently active, he noted. With an additional quantity of 7.39 LTPA of Green Ammonia in the pipeline, India will provide incentives for production of Green Hydrogen up to over one million tonnes per annum, he noted.

He stressed that the tender for green ammonia announced by India is the largest tender of this type in the world.

The trust the world has in us is evident as 2.55 MTPA of green ammonia exports have already been booked, he noted, adding that several Indian companies have signed agreements with companies from Japan, Korea, Norway and many other countries for supply of green ammonia.