Green hydrogen

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that India would aim for net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The announcement was given credence by the country’s solar achievements since 2015. India is the only major economy whose policies and actions are on track to limit global average temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, as envisioned in the Paris Agreement.

Green hydrogen

• Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced by splitting water by electrolysis. This produces only hydrogen and oxygen. We can use the hydrogen and vent the oxygen to the atmosphere with no negative impact.
• To achieve electrolysis we need electricity, we need power. This process to make green hydrogen is powered by renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar. That makes green hydrogen the cleanest option – hydrogen from renewable energy sources without CO2 as a by-product.

Colour coding of hydrogen

• While hydrogen generated through renewable energy sources is green, it is blue when the carbon generated from the process is captured and stored without dispersing it in the atmosphere. When the carbon is not captured, the generated hydrogen is labelled grey.

Significance of green hydrogen

• Energy Security– India’s 75% of the energy demand is met by coal and oil, including imports. This is expected to increase, so the synergy between renewable energy and green hydrogen must be tapped to tackle the dependence on fossil fuel and take greater advantage of India’s solar capacity.
• To tackle climate change –Hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, is a vital weapon in India’s arsenal to fight climate change as it improves the long-term energy storage capabilities of renewable energy.
• Decarbonise the most polluting sectors-The simplest element in the periodic table is also the most promising solution to decarbonise sectors like cement, steel, and refineries.

• According to Hydrogen Council, Hydrogen can provide the lowest-cost decarbonization solution for over a fifth of final energy demand by mid-century contributing a cumulated reduction of 80Gt of CO₂, thus making it  an essential solution to reach the 1.5°C climate scenario

Head Start for India

• Nearly 70% of the investments required to produce green hydrogen through electrolysis goes into generating renewable energy.
• With India’s solar capacity increasing nearly 3,000 times in less than a decade, the cost of solar energy has reached a low of ₹2 per kWh. This gives India a unique head start in scaling up the use of green hydrogen.
• India can reduce its carbon emissions and make a dent in its annual import bills by developing a value chain for hydrogen from its production to its diverse applications,including production technologies, storage, transport and distribution, infrastructure (ports, refuelling stations), vehicular applications, and electricity/gas grid.

Way Forward

• Government funding and long-term policies that attract private investments within the standards and a progressive compliance framework are essential to boost green hydrogen.
• Hydrogen’s cross-sectoral capabilities should be exploited according to each sector’s cost and ease of adoption.
• Short term goals-A few key sectors with low transition costs, such as refineries, fertilizers and natural gas, should be mandated to use hydrogen to bring down costs as part of near-term goals.
• Medium term goals-New demand from steel, cement and road mobility should be mandated as part of medium-term goals.
• Long term goals- Heavy-duty vehicles should receive State and Central incentives. Shipping, aviation, energy storage and solutions towards power intermittency should be mandated to use green hydrogen in the long run.
• Enforcing time-bound mid- and long-term policies would inspire the private sector to invest more in green hydrogen and give the boost it requires in its nascent stages.
• India’s current grey hydrogen production is six million tonnes per annum, which is around 8.5% of global annual production. India should replace this with green hydrogen and reduce dependence on imported ammonia.
• It should aim to produce 4-6 million tonnes of green hydrogen per annum by the end of the decade and export at least 2 million tonnes per annum.
• India has already taken the first step with the Indian Oil Corporation floating a global tender to set up two green hydrogen generation units at the Mathura and Panipat refineries.

The Hindu link-

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/boosting-green-hydrogen/article37758140.ece

Question- Green hydrogen can potentially help in greening the  country’s energy mix. Elucidate.