According to Ugo Astuto, the European Union’s Ambassador to India, there is a significant opportunity for deep and comprehensive cooperation between India and the European Union (EU) on the subject of green hydrogen, notably through projects like the EU’s Global Gateway, to speed the green transition.

His remarks are noteworthy in light of India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, which is nearing completion, and the EU’s ‘REPowerEU Plan,’ which was released last month to reduce the EU’s reliance on fossil fuels, particularly those imported from Russia, and to address the climate catastrophe. On Thursday, Astuto spoke at an event co-hosted by RIS, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the EU-European External Action Service on India-EU “Green Hydrogen Cooperation: Towards Sustainable Energy Transition.” He noted that green hydrogen will help reduce fossil fuel reliance and that investments, such as those generated through the Global Gateway, should be used to create and enhance the green hydrogen ecosystem.

The EU’s ‘REPowerEU Plan’ intends to strengthen Green Hydrogen Partnerships in order to allow green hydrogen import (to the EU) and help ‘decarbonization in partner nations,’ among other things. REPowerEU has set a goal of producing 10 million tonnes (mt) of domestic renewable hydrogen in the EU and importing 10 mt of renewable hydrogen into the EU by 2030.

The planned National Green Hydrogen Mission in India aspires to make the country a green hydrogen center and a global leader in commodity exports. In February of this year, India introduced its Green Hydrogen Policy. The 2016 EU-India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership include green hydrogen as one of its priority areas.

According to Dr. Vandana Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, there is a need to build a robust pipeline of green hydrogen projects in India, including electrolyzer and manufacturing facilities, in order to boost the supply side of the equation.

She believes that lowering the prices of green hydrogen generation and delivery is critical in this respect. The main challenge now, according to Sandeep Chakravorty, Joint Secretary (Europe West), Ministry of External Affairs, is to start implementing joint green hydrogen projects, find markets for green hydrogen and green ammonia, and address technological (including storage and transportation) and financial challenges. The EU’s REPowerEU Plan, according to Tudor Constantinescu, Principal Adviser to the Director-General, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission, intends to speed the construction of a robust green hydrogen ecosystem and build long-term collaborations.

Several causes, including the Ukraine situation, he added, might prompt the EU to step up its efforts to achieve deeper economic, technological, and regulatory integration in green hydrogen between the EU and partner nations like India. The India-EU Energy Panel agreed to strengthen cooperation in green hydrogen by establishing an India-EU Hydrogen Forum to exchange best practices, boosting the development of the green hydrogen ecosystem inside the bilateral CECP.