PSUs to present joint move to govt for adoption of green hydrogen

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Green hydrogen, the wonder fuel that uses the lightest of materials to move the heaviest of vehicles including trucks and trains, is finally about to move to the front burner of the country’s green energy agenda with oil-marketing companies (OMCs) preparing to submit a joint road map for its adoption to accelerate energy transition plans, the Business Standard said in a report. The companies have been instructed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to prepare a plan to provide a thrust to move fast on this lane. The avowed target is to produce 10 lakh tonnes of green hydrogen by the year 2030. “The ministry has been meeting OMCs to ensure ways to boost green hydrogen production in the country. A joint road map will not only ensure better coordination in mapping demand but also enable OMCs to help each other in technical assistance,” an official who preferred to remain anonymous told the newspaper. Green hydrogen is a truly clean form of energy like solar power since it emits nothing but water vapour. Worldwide it is emerging as one of the leading alternatives as the developed world scrambles to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The fuel has featured prominently in many reduction pledges at UN climate conferences with both big corporations and governments recognising the potential of the fuel to drive societies towards net zero economies. Indian refineries already use hydrogen for their own consumption and technologists believe that it could be converted into green hydrogen. The ministry plans to ensure uptake through city gas distribution (CGD) and it will blend green hydrogen (GH2) with natural gas (which is called HENG), the report claimed. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is testing hydrogen-enriched natural gas, or HENG. It could be transported through natural gas pipelines. Apparently, the two gases can be mixed in different proportions but In theory, the two can be mixed in any proportion. However, the near-term option is to use HENG with 10-20% hydrogen by volume. For IOCL the first green hydrogen generation plant will be erected at its Panipat refinery. In August, the company invited global tenders for the project. It will take the project 30 months to be commissioned and it will produce 10,000 tonnes of the gas a year. Back in 2021 Indian Oil did invite bids to set up green hydrogen units in Panipat and Mathura refineries. But the projects were scrapped and now it moving on with the Panipat project that is the largest in the country. The PSU has plans to mix green hydrogen produced in the plant with grey hydrogen which is produced from naptha or natural gas for its captive purposes in secondary processing units. The other PSU Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is erecting a 20-MW green hydrogen unit at its refinery in Bina, Madhya Pradesh. This one would generate the gas for its captive requirements. The third project is coming up in Visakhapatnam refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. It would have a capacity of 370 mtpa of green hydrogen. Incidentally, Indian PSUs are not restricting themselves to explore possibilities only within the country. In July, Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said a consortium of HPCL and green energy provider ACME has submitted bids in response to green hydrogen/ammonia-related tenders in Germany and Oman.