National Green Hydrogen Mission: What Is Green Hydrogen & Why Does It Matter?

India's Union government has approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission as of 4 January 2023.

File image of a hydrogen plant.

(Photo: The Quint)

Green hydrogen is the latest buzzword in India's climate sector, with the central government approving the National Green Hydrogen Mission last week, budgeted at Rs 19,744 crore.

What is green hydrogen? It is hydrogen produced either by renewable energy or low-carbon power via the electrolysis of water.

• Green hydrogen makes up less than 0.01 percent of the total global hydrogen production.

• It is to be used to decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify –such as steel – and aid in mitigating climate change.

• It is considered the cleanest fuel due to the lack of carbon trail left during production.

Hydrogen codes: Hydrogen is categorised by colours which signify the method of production.

• Grey hydrogen is the most common category of hydrogen in use. It is produced using natural gas.

• Brown hydrogen is extracted using coal and a byproduct of this is the emissions from greenhouse gases (GHGs).

• Blue hydrogen is sourced from GHGs using carbon capture technology.

India's plan: India's National Green Hydrogen Mission has set targets for the year 2030, the predicted result for which include:

• Developing the national Green hydrogen production capacity to at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne)

• Garnering Rs 8 lakh crore in investments

• Reducing cumulative fossil fuel imports by Rs 1 lakh crore.

• Reducing annual GHG emissions by approximately 50 MMT

Getting started: India intends to invite bids for subsidies regarding green hydrogen manufacturing sets and utilisation plants by May 2023, according to Reuters.

• The first green hydrogen plant in India will be set up in Pune.

• Clean hydrogen will be extracted from biomass and municipal solid waste.

• The Pune Municipal Corporation has sourced a private firm – The Green Billions Limited (TGBL) – to manage Pune's municipal waste to generate hydrogen for a period of 30 days.

The global stance: Companies globally have been preparing for the increase in electrolyser production and the development of green hydrogen plants as the world rushes towards rapid decarbonisation.

• The industry is set up to transition from pilot projects to production at an industrial scale.

• Global electrolyser production will need to increase 91 times by 2030 to meet global demand, as estimated by BloombergNEF (BNEF).

• More than 40 percent of electrolysers in use today are produced in China, according to BNEF.

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