A top government official said India will give green hydrogen fuel manufacturers at least 10% of their costs under a $2 billion scheme starting in June.
New Delhi authorised a 174.9 billion rupee incentive scheme to promote green hydrogen this year to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and become a major exporter.
The official told Reuters that the government will provide at least 30 Indian rupees per kilogramme (kg) for green hydrogen fuel manufacturing.
India’s green hydrogen production costs 300 rupees per kilogramme.
The government will fund 130 billion rupees for green hydrogen production and the rest for electrolysers, which split hydrogen and oxygen molecules using electricity.
India aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and have half its electrical capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
Reuters requested reaction from India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Press Information Bureau.
The source said the government will start bidding for enterprises seeking incentives by the end of this quarter and aims to support 3.6 million tonnes of hydrogen production capacity in the following three years under the scheme. The incentives will be decreased every year.
The official said the government will invite bids in three tranches for green hydrogen supply and two for electrolysers to obtain market insights, absorb new technologies, and reduce costs.
Renewable energy and hydrogen/ammonia producers are likely to participate in the green hydrogen auction. The insider stated the lowest-incentive companies will get the contracts.
Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, NTPC, Adani Enterprises, JSW Energy, ReNew Power, and Acme Solar, which have green hydrogen plans, are expected to bid on the contracts.
The official said each tranche for electrolyser manufacture will be 1,500 megawatts (MW) with a 4,440 rupee per kilowatt incentive.
The scheme will fund 3,000 megawatts of electrolyser capacity for five years, with the first tranches in this quarter and the next in the third quarter of 2023.
