Green hydrogen technology will be promoted in Nepal by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Kathmandu University (KU) at Dhulikhel, Kavre.
At a gathering in Dhulikhel on Friday, KU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa and NEA Managing Director Kul Man Ghising signed an MoU.
According to Biraj Singh Thapa, assistant professor and head of the KU’s Green Hydrogen Lab, the two organizations have inked an agreement to promote green hydrogen technology by creating information, skills, and personnel relating to the NEA’s and government’s interests.
The institution will give professional help and advice for the NEA’s hydropower-related projects, according to the agreement. The institution will provide a thorough project report for the five-megawatt green ammonia project that the NEA has proposed.
In Nepal, the university will be required to run three postgraduate and doctorate programs utilizing green hydrogen technology.
The KU-NEA deal will be executed over the following five years, according to the institution.
The NEA would contribute Rs. 50 million for green hydrogen expertise, project design, and educational program operation.
Both parties agreed to do research on a sample of green hydrogen technology, the application of hydrogen technology to improve grid quality, energy storage during the winter, and capacity building for proper hydropower use in Nepal.
MD Ghising, speaking at the event, stated that in the fiscal year 2023/24, Nepal will be able to import less power while exporting more.
Nepal wants to be self-sufficient in hydropower generation by the end of the fiscal year 2024/25, he added.
After being self-reliant on power in 2024/25, Ghising estimates that roughly 50 to 60 percent of electricity will be surplus during the rainy season. Vice-Chancellor Thapa stated that collaboration programs on the future use of wasted hydropower in Nepal had been launched with the NEA.
He compared water to white gold and stated that the KU has been promoting its application in numerous industries by manufacturing green hydrogen from Nepal’s power.
According to Thapa, the KU will focus on the implementation of green hydrogen generation as well as other research on how to make urea in Nepal using hydrogen.
The Green Hydrogen Lab at Kathmandu University has been undertaking research on green hydrogen generation in Nepal, according to Rising Nepal.