State-owned energy companies are looking for partners to collaborate on green hydrogen projects that will power their refineries and commercialize the fuel.
IOCL, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd, NTPC Ltd, and Gail (India) Ltd, among others, intend to develop green hydrogen facilities within the next three years.
While IOCL has invited bids from across the globe for the development of generating facilities on a build-own-operate basis at its refineries in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, and Panipat, Haryana, Gail has invited offers from across the globe for the procurement of an electrolyzer.
Gail has shortlisted three locations, one of which is in Madhya Pradesh’s Vijaipur, and anticipates that the 10-megawatt plant will be operational in around 14 months. Additionally, NTPC, the country’s state-owned power company, announced the construction of a 5MW green H2 plant.
On the other hand, IOCL plans to build a green hydrogen generation plant with a capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes per year for its Mathura refinery and 2,000 metric tonnes per year for its Panipat refinery.
Hydrogen is utilized in large quantities at refineries to de-sulphurize gasoline, diesel, and other chemicals. At the moment, hydrogen is created in refineries through steam reforming natural gas, which produces considerable amounts of CO2. As a result, refiners are developing large-scale electrolyzers to produce green hydrogen from water and decarbonize the hydrogen manufacturing process.
In line with the country’s green hydrogen goal, demand for green hydrogen in India is estimated to reach 2 million tonnes per year by 2030 for applications such as refineries, fertilisers, and municipal gas grids. This would require up to $60 billion in investments.
