Hydrogen is expected to help decarbonise multiple end-use applications, and Global and regional trends will impact the growth of this new economic sector
India’s aspirations for economic growth are intricately linked to its energy needs. However, the traditional reliance on fossil fuels presents challenges for sustainability and in this context, hydrogen emerges as a promising option to propel India’s energy revolution.
India has taken firm and steady action to enable energy transition. India has made numerous and varied efforts, whether it was spearheading the announcement of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Deal, increasing renewable capacity, loosening climate financing, or announcing the objective of reaching net-zero emissions.
Globally, green hydrogen has been recognised as an essential component of a future lower-carbon economy. Several countries have taken steady steps to propose and develop their hydrogen strategies. Case in point, Europe is leading electrolyzer capacity deployment, with 40 percent of global installed capacity, and is set to remain a leader in the near term on the back of ambitious hydrogen strategies. The (green) hydrogen value chain necessitates the integration of multiple systems, such as energy storage, grid systems for electricity transmission and control, renewable power (such as solar and wind), and power conversion systems for electricity that meet electrolyzer requirements. The challenge today, thus, is not in recognising the potential of hydrogen but in enabling a clear roadmap that accelerates both the supply of green hydrogen and its demand and consumption.
Decarbonising power: Switching from coal to natural gas to hydrogen
Globally, coal-based power plants in their traditional form are twice as polluting than natural gas. The output of natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants, which are currently the lowest emitting fossil fuel power plants, is visibly changing due to ongoing innovation that is producing advanced gas turbine technology and flexible fuel burning capabilities. These power plants emit the least amount of mercury, SOx, NOx, CO2, and particulate matter. Now, there is further scope to modify existing and future gas power plants whose carbon emissions can be reduced to avoid CO2 lock-in.
Here, hydrogen makes a strong case for itself to emerge as a more sustainable fuel, along with investments in carbon capture technologies. A combination of hydrogen and natural gas can form a potential pathway to accelerating the energy transition and providing a more reliable and sustainable power supply. For businesses too, replacing a natural gas turbine with hydrogen is an efficient solution to reducing the carbon emissions of their fleet of gas plants. And if the hydrogen produced is green, then overall emissions from gas-based power plants can significantly drop. In what is expected to be a first-of-its-kind operation, Duke Energy started the DeBary Hydrogen Project at its solar farm outside of Orlando, Florida. Using a set of electrolyzers, part of the plant’s vast solar array will be dedicated to producing green hydrogen, which will be stored on site to distribute during those peak demand periods.
To elaborate, there are two ways to turn gas generation into a zero or near zero-carbon resource; both pre-, and post-combustion. The most common pre-combustion decarbonisation approach is to opt for carbon-free fuels (when combusted) like hydrogen or ammonia. For existing units, upgrades can be scheduled with planned outages; and for new units, these capabilities can be a part of the initial plant configuration or phased-in overtime as hydrogen becomes more available.
Recently, the Indian government ordered all gas-based power generating stations to operationalize their plants from May 1 to June 30, 2024, due to a potential prolonged heat wave this summer. If hydrogen were blended with natural gas, the fuel mix could provide RTC (round-the-clock) power through daily consumption cycles, enabling the availability of more sustainable energy with up to 90 percent reliability.
The compelling case for hydrogen
Hydrogen isn’t just for power generation. It can be used to reduce the carbon emission of sectors like steel, refineries, and fertiliser production, contributing to a cleaner industrial ecosystem. In India, the demand for green hydrogen was earlier concentrated in well-established sectors like refineries, ammonia, and methanol production, where hydrogen is already utilised as a key industrial feedstock and in chemical processes but is now set to permeate other industries.
The country’s growing demand for green hydrogen is expected to witness exponential growth, with demand projected to soar more than fourfold by 2050.
To meet this demand, a National Green Hydrogen Policy has already been created (in 2022), which targets an annual production capacity of 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen while also decreasing fossil fuel imports by over 1 trillion rupees, preventing 50 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, and creating more than 6,00,000 job opportunities.
To meet these objectives, collaboration between innovators, entrepreneurs, and the government is imperative, along incentivizing production, fostering demand from industries, and developing robust storage and distribution infrastructure. Additionally, promoting research, development, and manufacturing of essential components like electrolysers through schemes such as production-linked incentives (PLI) will bolster India's capabilities in this field.
Cutting edge innovations
The field of green hydrogen is brimming with cutting edge innovations. One such is high temperature electrolysis, which promises increased efficiency in the electrolysis process, another promising area is photoelectrochemical water splitting, where PEC cells directly use sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. It’s important to keep in mind not just technological advancements but also how to build economies of scale and innovate along the way will be crucial to making the green hydrogen supply ecosystem commercially viable.
Conclusion
Although at a nascent stage, green hydrogen is now being widely considered essential for the energy transition as we work to reduce carbon emissions worldwide. Hydrogen is expected to help decarbonise multiple end-use applications, and Global and regional trends will impact the growth of this new economic sector. Globally, hydrogen production is in the early stages of its value chain, but once its production costs fall, its storage, transmission and distribution potential will increase. For India, a country of over 1.4 billion people, the complete adoption of green hydrogen across industries and sectors will take time. Nonetheless, we need to begin tracing our steps as soon as possible. This Earth Day, let’s recommit to innovation and collaboration to unlock the potential of cleaner energy solutions like green hydrogen and build a healthier planet for generations to come.
(Shilpa Gupta, CTO - India, GE Vernova)