Energy companies want to make green hydrogen cheaper – industry news

As green hydrogen becomes a buzzword in the renewable energy space, companies such as Avaada Group, Hygenco Green Energies and Thermax are working to lower its costs to make it more economical. Besides, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Adani Group have already announced plans to reduce the cost of green hydrogen.

While green hydrogen currently costs around $4-5 (Rs 334-418) per kg – about twice the price of gray hydrogen – several companies are working to bring its price down to $1-2 (Rs 83-166) using new technologies. innovative products and more.

As the country has set an ambitious goal of producing 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, experts say reducing production costs is crucial.

Avaada integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics into its operations. “Artificial intelligence helps us optimize energy production and consumption patterns, predict maintenance needs and increase the overall efficiency of our renewable assets. This technological advantage allows us to reduce costs and improve reliability,” said CEO Vineet Mittal.

The dedicated electrolyzer team focuses on improving the energy consumption of the stack. By improving electrolyzer technology and increasing efficiency, the amount of electricity needed to produce hydrogen is reduced, directly reducing production costs, Mittal said. Avaada also wants to address advanced fuel cell technologies and hydrogen storage solutions.

“Our ambition at Avaada is to significantly reduce the cost of green hydrogen, similar to the extraordinary reductions we have seen in the renewable energy sector over the last decade,” Mittal added.

Hygenco uses an advanced energy management and control system to optimize operations, said co-founder and CEO Amit Bansal. By harnessing the power of IoT, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the company aims to maximize efficiency in real time, effectively reducing the costs of green hydrogen and ammonia production. “Our energy management system monitors a wide range of parameters – such as photovoltaic energy generation, state of charge, hydrogen production, pressure, temperature and electrolyzer cleanliness – making autonomous decisions in real time to ensure maximum efficiency,” Bansal added.

Hygenco plans to launch a large-scale green ammonia project in Gopalpur, Odisha, with a production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per annum. It will be implemented in several stages between 2027 and 2030. Moreover, by 2026 it is expected to produce 75,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.

Kapil Maheshwari, executive director and CEO of Welspun New Energy, said the company is actively leveraging multiple levers to reduce the cost of green hydrogen. The company is optimizing the combination of solar and wind power along with batteries as energy storage to optimize the size, capacity utilization rate and renewable energy tariff. For long-term energy storage, Maheshwari said, large-scale pumped hydro projects are being considered. “Various corporate structures are also being assessed to improve procurement and capital expenditure. To optimize operating costs, we plan complete digital solutions for monitoring large plants and robotic cleaning of photovoltaic modules. This will be a combination of strategic optimization of the acquisition of key materials and land and shortening implementation times,” he added.

Pune-based Thermax has revived its green hydrogen plans and recently partnered with Ceres to manufacture, sell and service series modules based on the latter’s solid oxide electrolysis technology. It aims to localize the technology over the next few years, said CEO and CEO Ashish Bhandari. He added that the company will be able to deliver systems that are 25% more efficient than existing low-temperature electrolysis technologies.

RIL and Adani Group are also working to reduce the cost of green hydrogen and produce green hydrogen derivatives.

RIL, which wants to invest $10 billion in the green hydrogen ecosystem, has set an ambitious target of achieving a production cost of $1 per kilogram of green hydrogen by 2030.

RIL is building a giant electrolyzer plant, which is expected to be operational by 2026, CEO Mukesh Ambani said at the 47th edition of…^vol General Meeting last month. He said the company provides green hydrogen and green fuels at the most economical costs.

The conglomerate is also building capabilities in futuristic electrolysis-based technologies to address the challenges of energy efficiency and capital cost reduction of next-generation electrolyzers.

Adani Group’s goal is to develop Adani New Industries as one of the world’s leading producers of green hydrogen and its related products. It plans to develop an integrated green hydrogen ecosystem that will support hydrogen production of up to 1 MMTPA by 2030 and 3 MMTPA in the next 10 years. This will include its derivatives such as green ammonia, green methanol and sustainable jet fuel.