Page 138 - CW E-Magazine (28-1-2025)

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AIDING INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

Waaree, L&T, Reliance among 10 fi rms to win incentives

for tranche-II of green hydrogen tender

L&T Energy, Waaree Clean Energy, The tender under the incentive
Reliance Green Hydrogen, and AM scheme followed a bucket-fi lling ap-
Green are among the 10 companies that proach where the bidder with lowest in-
have emerged as the lowest bidders for centive requirement would be awarded
incentives to produce green hydrogen the fi nancial support and its required
under the second tranche of the Strate- capacity, followed by the next lowest
gic Interventions for Green Hydrogen and so on until the entire tender capa-
Transition (SIGHT) scheme. city was exhausted.

The fi nancial bids for incentives The cap for the incentive is Rs. 50
under the second tranche for green per kg in the fi rst year of production,
hydrogen under SIGHT scheme were The SIGHT programme is a part of Rs. 40 per kg in the second and Rs. 30
opened on January 17. The total capacity India’s National Green Hydrogen Mis- per kg in the last.
bid against the offer was 622,500 sion. It was launched in January 2023
tonnes by 14 companies. The maximum with an outlay of Rs 17,490-crore for Green hydrogen production units
incentive under the second tranche green hydrogen capacity as well as set up through the scheme will have to
of the scheme is Rs. 5,400-crore, and electrolysers. Of the total capacities on commission within 2.5 years from the
the Ministry of New and Renew- offer, 410,000 tonnes per year of green date of the letter of award.
able Energy invited bids to establish hydrogen production is technology
450,000 tonnes per year green hydrogen agnostic, while the rest is for biomass- The National Green Hydrogen Mis-
manufacturing capacities. based pathways. sion targets a production capacity of at
least 5-million metric tonnes of green
Of the 10 companies that secured As per the guidelines of the scheme, hydrogen annually with an associated
the incentives, most got it for the maxi- bidding in the second tranche will be renewable energy capacity addition of
mum capacities they had quoted. based on the least incentive demanded. about 125-GW.
ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTICS

Zerocircle raises Rs. 20-crore in seed funding

Zerocircle, a Pune-based biotech chain, and expanding the company’s Founded in 2020, the Pune-based start-
company involved in developing sea- team. up creates seaweed-based packaging
weed-based alternatives for petroleum- designed to replace petrochemical-
derived plastics, has raised Rs. 20-crore “Our nature-based materials chal- based materials. Its product range
in its seed funding round. lenge the status quo that goes beyond includes coated packaging for ham-
just visible plastic pollution. Fuelled burger boxes, fried food containers,
The round saw participation from by anti-plastic policies, the demand for bakery packaging, and food trays.
Rainmatter Capital, 1Crowd, and en- clean sustainable solutions is already
vironmental advocate Trudie Styler. strong. The company aims to expand the
The round also saw participation from production capacity by nearly 10x
Trousdale Sarosphere LLC, VC Grid, With this funding infusion, we are across core product lines, including
7th Gen Ventures, Spectrum Impact and ready to fi ll the gap with cost-effective, coated paperboards, food boxes,
LNB Group. high-performing materials that help advanced coatings, and fi lms, with
conscious brands thrive in a changing total production capacity projected
The funds will be used for scaling market,” said Ms. Neha Jain, founder to reach over 3,000 tons annually by
manufacturing, optimising the supply and Managing Director of Zerocircle. 2028.

138 Chemical Weekly January 28, 2025

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