Vizag among best suited for Green H2: Secy, MoPNG
Highlighting the country’s gargantuan energy demand which is growing at a brisk rate, Mr Pankaj Jain, Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and natural gas, government of India stated that green hydrogen has increasingly become an attractive energy option as a cleaner and sustainable fuel.
‘India’s energy consumption is 1/3rd of global and is increasing at 3x. It is estimated that 40% of the incremental world energy demand (for crude oil) will come from India and China combined. Of this 15% will be from China while 25% will be from India.
We thus will be the single biggest incremental demand’ pointed Mr Jain addressing the HERO (Hydrogen, energy, resource and opportunity) 2023 energy environment summit in Vizag recently.
Citing green hydrogen as a clean fuel he said it possess many energy efficient factors and therefore is being aggressively taken up by the government of India under the green hydrogen mission.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission which was approved by the Union Cabinet on 4 January 2022, has the objectives of Making India a leading producer and supplier of Green Hydrogen in the world, Creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives, Reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock, Development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, Attracting investment and business opportunities for the industry, Creating opportunities for employment and economic development, Supporting R&D projects.
‘Hydrogen and its derivatives need to be made in India’ said Mr Jain. India’s green hydrogen demand he said is forecasted to be 12.5 MMT by 2040 and 25 MMT by 2050.
Need for R&D
The secretary however also noted that as green hydrogen still remains an uncharted territory a lot more R&D needs to go into this sphere and thus called upon researchers, industry experts and academicians to further explore this space.
Some of the limitations cited in using this fuel included transportation, financing etc. ‘As hydrogen grows so will regulation around this, infrastructure and trade rules’ said Mr Jain.
Secretary Lauds IIPE
Hailing the role of IIPE the secretary called upon the institute to take a lead role in this new avenue of energy and come out with meaningful and realistic findings.
‘IIPE because of its location and capability can take a leadership role in AP. Vizag is one of the best places to work on energy and can easily be one of the key centres for green hydrogen’ said Mr Jain.
