IH2A asks for Union Budget funding for India’s hydrogen

For the Union Budget of 2022-23, the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) has requested financial support for the creation of 10 National BharatH2 Clusters, a USD 1 bn Hydrogen Economy Development Fund (HEDF), and a Public-Private Hydrogen Taskforce (PPHT).

IH2A made the submissions to the NITI Aayog, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Steel, and Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

To meet IH2A’s 2030 target for a domestic hydrogen supply chain with a national installed electrolyser capacity of 25 GW, the Indian government and private sector will need to invest about USD 25 billion. The first generation of large-scale commercial hydrogen projects will require coordinated public-private actions, according to the report. There should also be a nodal office for the hydrogen economy, which would work across all central ministries, according to IH2A’s recommendations.

Commenting on the IH2A submission to the Government of India, Jill Evanko, Chief Executive and President, Chart Industries, and founding member, IH2A, said, “Funding support is critical for development of a hydrogen economy in India. A comprehensive set of policy interventions and budget incentives covering the entire hydrogen value chain are needed. Public and private funding for hydrogen should cover the entire supply chain – from production and supply-side, storage and transport as well as demand side to encourage industrial off-take in hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy. We have proposed a Hydrogen Economy Development Fund to be created to fund at least 10 GW-scale National H2 Projects by end 2022 bringing together consortia of industry players to create the first-generation of national hydrogen clusters.”

“We have also proposed a public-private Bharat H2 Taskforce that will act as the combined expert advisory group, bringing together national and global hydrogen expertise in hydrogen technology, project development, safety standards and funding, to all Indian stakeholders. The creation of the public-private Bharat H2 Taskforce is critical for meeting the national ambitions for hydrogen commercialization and developing a domestic supply chain in India.”