India's 'National Hydrogen Mission' Important to Avoid Future Energy Crises - Expert

At Glasgow26, India announced its intention of becoming carbon-neutral by 2070, while aiming to increase non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. Green hydrogen is expected to play a major role in decarbonizing heavy industry and factories in the coming decades.

India launched the National Hydrogen Mission last year, with a '1-1-1' target of reaching $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently expressed hopes that petrol would be replaced by green hydrogen in the next five years.

However, adopting this technology is going to see many challenges for the government, which include the cost to people's behavioral patterns and clean energy production in the absence of any legal framework.

Sputnik spoke with Professor Rajeev Ahuja, director of the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, to get a brief understanding of green hydrogen prospects in India.

Sputnik: How would you describe green hydrogen to an ordinary person and what is the difference between different forms of hydrogen, like blue or grey hydrogen?

Dr. Ahuja: It simply means breaking water into oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen does not occur freely in nature, it's mostly available in the water. The whole process is done on a lab scale.

However, as of now, even drinking water cannot be used for this process: hydrogen is produced from biomass gasification, which is green. The raw materials are agricultural crops or forest residues, organic municipal solid trash, and animal waste.

India's Punjab state has lots of potential for green hydrogen as its an agricultural state, leaving lots of residue after crop production. Many steps and initiatives have been taken in the state in this regard.

[As for] the color of hydrogen, it depends on the process by which it was obtained through.

Grey and blue are both obtained through fossil fuels. The world's hydrogen is currently being manufactured using fossil fuels, which is also known as grey hydrogen. It is made by separating water and methane (H2O and CH4) into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (H2 and CO2). It leaves behind CO2, which is harmful to the climate.

So, blue hydrogen differs from grey hydrogen in terms of the carbon-capturing process, [but the latter is not carbon-neutral].

Meanwhile, green and blue hydrogen are carbon neutral.

Sputnik: At this time, new options emerge every other month to replace coal and fuel. But what's the best out there in the market?

Dr. Ahuja: [It's better not to undermine] the use of solar and renewables -- they are equally very good forms of energy. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of installing 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from biomass, and the remaining 5 GW from small hydropower. In this [regard], every sector plays a crucial role.

Cost plays a very important role, with governments' effort to reach out to villages and give subsidies on the solar product — people are buying these products.

India is a warm nation; most parts see sun throughout the year, so we should use it.

But at the same time, solar cannot be used for transportation, but hydrogen can be used for transportation. There cannot be a single source of energy, everything is integrated.

Sputnik: Last August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Hydrogen Mission, aimed at making India a green hydrogen hub producing five million tonnes by 2030. How much progress has been made in this regard?

Dr. Ahuja: India has lots of biomass, and there is a huge demand for hydrogen, if this biomass is used properly, there are chances that whatever we produce maybe it's still that would not be enough.

Energy demand is growing day by day, and right now, we're dependent on other countries to meet our energy demands. [The National Hydrogen Mission] is very important for creating the needed infrastructure, or green hydrogen policy. Look at European countries — they are all facing a crisis due to energy, and now want to adopt this technology. We should have alternatives to oil and gas [in order to avoid this].

Big companies like Indian Oil, Reliance, and even Railways have already jumped in.

Sputnik But, what about medium and small-scale industries and those residing not in major cities?

Dr. Ahuja: Biomass is mostly available on the outskirts of the cities, so does agriculture residue. Hence, the production station can be set up in a village or even outside the house, and the people can simultaneously use it.

Second, everyone will start shifting to them once their cost goes down. The cost will for sure be coming down. There was a time when the cost of solar energy was high… cost has been cut up to 100 times, it used to cost in dollars, now cents.

Moreover, in coming time, a subsidy is expected to be announced by the government for industries.

Sputnik: India has set a target of decarbonization or turning carbon neutral by 2070. Is this goal realistic?

Dr. Ahuja: It's a promising target. Small European countries will already be carbon neutral by 2070, including Norway, Sweden, etc. Our goal is needed to be achieved in the next 48 years.

You'll see a major shift in Indian consumer behavior in the next ten years.