The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the much-awaited National Green Hydrogen Mission with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said in a press briefing in New Delhi on January 4.

Of the Rs 19,744 crore outlay for the mission, the government has earmarked Rs 17,490 crore (88.6 percent) solely for incentives on the production of green hydrogen and manufacturing of electrolysers, which the government has termed Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT).

Via the Mission, the government aims to create 50 lakh tonnes or 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen production capacity every year till 2029-2030. For this, 60-100 gigawatt (GW) of electrolyser capacity will be created and 125 GW of renewable energy capacity addition will be done.

Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy through electrolysis.

Union power and renewable energy minister RK Singh said the National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the Cabinet, will make India a global hub for the production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen.

“It will reduce India's dependence on fossil fuel import, with likely cumulative import bill savings of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030,” he said.

The government expects that the programme will attract investments of more than Rs 8 lakh crore and that it would create over six lakh jobs. The cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports through this programme has been pegged at about Rs 1 lakh crore along with the abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways. An enabling policy framework will be developed to support the establishment of a green hydrogen ecosystem. A robust Standards and Regulations framework will be also developed,” the power ministry later said in a statement.

“Further, a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) will be facilitated under the Mission; R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time-bound, and suitably scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies. A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken under the Mission,” it stated.

The mission will be headed by the cabinet secretary and an empowered group of secretaries.

Industry stakeholders welcomed the move. Vineet Mittal, Chairperson, Avaada Group said this intervention is even more significant because it comes at a time when India has the G20 presidency. “It will clearly showcase India’s commitment to lead the global energy transition.

Indian hydrogen demand is anticipated to see a five-fold jump to 28 MT by 2050, along with tremendous opportunities that exist for exports. This intervention will help Indian developers cater to the requirement and augment the ongoing efforts to reach the target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2070,” he said.

Gautam Mohanka, Managing Director, Gautam Solar said India’s dependency on fossil fuels has been a matter of concern, given that the country’s power consumption demands are likely to soar massively over the next 20 years.

“Gautam Solar looks forward to empowering local players and businesses in using solar power for green hydrogen production and usage. We hope that the government will eventually make it mandatory for select industries to use green hydrogen and solar power to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. We also see this as a prospect for the indigenous production of power components, panels, and parts,” Mohanka said.

On February 17, 2022, the government notified the first part of the National Hydrogen Mission policy on green hydrogen and green ammonia.

The ministry, in that notification, waived the power transmission charges for 25 years for these units, allowed them to buy renewable power from exchanges or their own unit and allowed these companies to bank unconsumed renewable power for up to 30 days with power distribution companies (discom). These companies will be provided open access within 15 days of application.

The move is targeted to help India, one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and make it a global hub for manufacturing of this clean source of energy.

Briefing about the decisions of the Cabinet, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said: "mission seeks to promote development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (million metric tonnes) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030."

Plan to make India energy-independent, decarbonise major sectors of the economy, and to turn the country into a global hub to produce, utilise and export the alternative fuel & its derivatives

The total outlay for the mission is ₹19,744 crore, out of which the government has allocated ₹17,490 crore for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, ₹1,466 crore for the upcoming pilot projects, ₹400 crore for R&D, and ₹388 crore towards other mission components

All concerned ministries, departments, agencies and institutions of the Central and State Governments will undertake focused and coordinated steps to ensure successful achievement of the mission objectives.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will be responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the mission, he stated.

India has just begun to generate green hydrogen with the objective of raising non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in May 2022, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India will emerge as the leader of green hydrogen by taking advantage of the current energy crisis across the globe. His assertion came almost a month after Oil India Limited (OIL) commissioned India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.

The National Hydrogen Mission was launched on August 15, 2021, with a view to cutting down carbon emissions and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will formulate the scheme guidelines for implementation.

The mission seeks to promote the development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030.

It envisages an investment of over ₹8 lakh crore and creation of over 6 lakh jobs by 2030.

It will also result in a cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports of over ₹1 lakh crore and abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The mission will have wide-ranging benefits — creation of export opportunities for green hydrogen and its derivatives; decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors; reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock; development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities; creation of employment opportunities; and development of cutting-edge technologies, an official statement said.

The mission will facilitate demand creation, production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen. Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT), two distinct financial incentive mechanisms — targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen — will be provided under the mission.

The mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways. Regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or utilisation of hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs, the Minister added.

An enabling policy framework will be developed to support establishment of the green hydrogen ecosystem. A robust standards and regulations framework will be also developed.

Further, a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership - SHIP) will be facilitated under the mission. R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time-bound, and suitably scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies. A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken.

Mission aims to make India a Global Hub for production, utilization and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives

Mission will help in India becoming energy independent and in Decarbonisation of major sectors of the economy Posted On: 04 JAN 2023 4:14PM by PIB Delhi

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved National Green Hydrogen Mission. The initial outlay for the Mission will be Rs.19,744 crore, including an outlay of Rs.17,490 crore for the SIGHT programme, Rs.1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs.400 crore for R&D, and Rs. 388 crore towards other Mission components. MNRE will formulate the scheme guidelines for implementation of the respective components.

The Mission will result in the following likely outcomes by 2030:

Development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country

Over Rs. Eight lakh crore in total investments

Creation of over Six lakh jobs

Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports over Rs. One lakh crore

Abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions The Mission will have wide ranging benefits- creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives; Decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors; reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock; development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities; creation of employment opportunities; and development of cutting-edge technologies. India’s Green Hydrogen production capacity is likely to reach at least 5 MMT per annum, with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW. The targets by 2030 are likely to bring in over Rs. 8 lakh crore investments and create over 6 lakh jobs. Nearly 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030.

The Mission will facilitate demand creation, production, utilization and export of Green Hydrogen.

Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT), two distinct financial incentive mechanisms – targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of Green Hydrogen – will be provided under the Mission.

The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways.

Regions capable of supporting large scale production and/or utilization of Hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.

An enabling policy framework will be developed to support establishment of Green Hydrogen ecosystem.

A robust Standards and Regulations framework will be also developed. Further, a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) will be facilitated under the Mission;

R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time bound, and suitably scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies. A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken under the Mission.