NTPC Green Energy Ltd, the clean energy arm of India’s largest thermal power producer, NTPC Ltd, is developing a $21bn green hydrogen hub as the country looks to scale up its efforts in clean energy production.
To be located in the region of Andhra Pradesh, the project will be the first green hydrogen hub under the National Green Hydrogen Mission – an initiative launched in 2023 that targets the production of at least five million metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
Equipped with a capacity of 20GW (gigawatts), the facility is earmarked to produce 1500 tonnes per day (tpd) of green hydrogen and 7500 tpd green hydrogen derivatives such as green methanol, green urea and sustainable aviation fuel.
According to a government statement released yesterday (6th January), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will ‘lay the foundation stone’ for the project tomorrow (8th January).
India’s green energy ambitions are spearheaded by a focus on green hydrogen, aimed at decarbonising hard-to-abate industries such as steel, cement and refining. These sectors account for significant emissions domestically and globally.
For instance, India’s cement industry contributes around 7% of its national CO2 emissions, aligning with global cement emissions of 8% of total CO2 output. The steel industry, responsible for nearly 12% of India’s industrial emissions, mirrors a global share of 7–9% of greenhouse gases.
Speaking at 2024’s International Conference on Green Hydrogen, Modi said, “Green hydrogen is emerging as a promising addition to the world’s energy landscape.”
Reflecting on the National Green Hydrogen Mission, he outlined India’s goals to make it a global hub for the green gas. “The National Green Hydrogen Mission is giving an impetus to innovation, infrastructure, industry and investment.”
Since the submission of its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) at COP21 in Paris, India has raised the stakes for its clean energy transition. In 2022, at COP26 in Glasgow, Modi first announced India’s five-pronged goals on climate action, including the target to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2070.
The country’s updated NDC ramped up targets on clean energy from 40% to 50% of cumulative installed capacity from non-fossil based sources by 2030, and reduction of emissions intensity of its economy from 33-35% to 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels.
As of September 2024, non-fossil fuel electricity makes up for around 202GW out of 453GW, nearly 44.5% of total capacity.
This was boosted by the launch of India’s first multi-purpose green hydrogen pilot project at the 1500 megawatt (MW) Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station, which launched in April 2024.
The pilot project is set to produce 14kg of green hydrogen each day during eight hours of operation, which will be stored in six storage tanks. The hydrogen will be used for HVOF coating of underwater turbine parts in addition to generating electricity through its 25 kilowatt capacity fuel cell.
