Together, the public sector oil refineries in India have the capacity to produce 137 ktpa of green hydrogen by 2030.
Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director of R&D at Indian Oil Corporation, made this revelation. At its Panipat refinery, Ramakumar stated that Indian Oil would first build a 7 ktpa electrolysis facility. He emphasized that IOC has a contract with L&T, a large engineering firm, and the renewable energy company ReNew Power for the construction of green hydrogen plants, not only for IOC but also for other refiners.
Alkaline and PEM are two established methods, both with advantages and disadvantages, according to Ramakumar. The third one, solid oxide, “is at TRL 3 or 4 and is predicted to be a super-duper technology.”
If we wish to follow the electrolysis technology track, all of our research institutions as a nation must focus on AEM technology, according to Ramakumar.
Ramakumar claimed that biomass gasification was a better method of manufacturing green hydrogen in India than IOC’s electrolysis, which involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with electricity.
He called the biomass option “very, very promising” and noted that it does not share many of the drawbacks of electrolysers, chief among them the requirement for enormous amounts of water. Despite being “thoroughly investigated,” Ramakumar noted that modern electrolysers need pure water.
