The National Hydrogen Mission (NHM), which was announced by the government last year, aims to lay the groundwork for India to become a global leader in hydrogen production.
As part of the first phase of the NHM, the Centre will soon release a draft roadmap that includes a green hydrogen policy. Through its push to the NHM, India hopes to reduce the cost of green hydrogen to $1 (Rs 75) per kg and become energy independent.
The government will support research, demand generation, infrastructure development, and other aspects of the process to ensure that India can produce and use hydrogen as a fuel, particularly in the transportation sector, as part of the mission’s scope.
The policy will lay out a roadmap for transitioning from high-carbon grey hydrogen and grey ammonia to zero-carbon green hydrogen and green ammonia extraction. Under the hydrogen policy, viability gap funding and mandates for producers for green hydrogen and ammonia usage are not expected. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that these will most likely be added in the second phase.
While the NHM’s scope is broad,the government would support the mission by providing free power transmission for 25 years, dollar-denominated bids, land allocation near ports for green hydrogen or ammonia bunkers, and land allocation in renewable energy parks.
The government’s ultimate goal is to reduce the cost of green hydrogen to $1 per kg and have a green hydrogen capacity of five million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) in India by 2030. Other incentives to increase production are also being pushed in this direction. According to CNBC-TV18, the government is considering introducing a Rs 15,000 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) for the manufacture of electrolysers, which produce green hydrogen by electrolyzing water.
According to sources, the government is considering making domestically manufactured electrolysers exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for a five-year period after the PLI is launched. Hydrogen is being hailed as the future’s fuel. Hydrogen has the capability of producing limitless, emission-free, and efficient energy. The BJP-led government is betting big on hydrogen as a temporary fuel to cut carbon emissions in a variety of industries that will take a long time to electrify.
