Page 173 - CW E-Magazine (1-10-2024)

Special Report Special Report

Green hydrogen projects – are we putting the cart around $5-6 per kg, the latter costs only green hydrogen is being hailed as the
ultimate solution to combat climate
around $2 per kg.
before the horse? To bring down costs, the cost of the change.

electrolysers has to be reduced. Higher Millions of dollars are being
riven by the compulsive need ment has set aside scales of green hydrogen plants can also pumped by different countries, includ-
to reduce or possibly elimi- Rs. 12,500-crore in N.S. VENKATARAMAN help bring down costs to some extent. ing India, for green hydrogen projects,
Dnate the use of fossil fuels like incentives to support Director anticipating that the production cost of
crude oil and coal as a strategy to pre- green hydrogen pro- Nandini Consultancy Centre Another challenge is the effi ciency green hydrogen would be reduced to
vent emissions of noxious gases such jects in the country. Chennai of the electrolysers – the amount of the levels of grey hydrogen, and renew-
as sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and Email: nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com electricity consumed to produce a kg of able power availability and reliability
nitrous oxide, governments all over the Several projects green hydrogen. Presently, it is as high It should also be noted that the pre- would be improved to the level needed.
world have initiated earnest measures The government has plans to estab- AM Green Ammonia BV has as 55-kWh per kg of hydrogen. sent global demand for grey hydrogen It is only hope at the present!
to boost the production of eco-friendly lish 15,000-MW of electrolyser manu- reached Final Investment Decision is around 96-mtpa and this quantity is
green hydrogen. facturing capacity that requires an esti- (FID) for its 5-mtpa green hydrogen Technology development efforts sought to be replaced by green hydro- Likely scenario
mated investment of ~Rs. 40,000-crore. project in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. to reduce the cost of electrolyser are gen. Is it not a Utopian expectation? In all likelihood, green hydrogen
India too has taken several pro- Enthused by the governments’ proac- The plant is expected to be commis- underway in many parts of the world Even 25% of the global requirement of projects will have to be heavily subsi-
active measures to boost the production tive policies, several global companies sioned in 2030. and the scenario is rapidly evolving. grey hydrogen cannot be replaced by dised by the countries promoting them.
of green hydrogen and should be duly have offered to participate in green green hydrogen in the next ten years,
recognised as one of the major coun- hydrogen projects in India. Around 15 Singapore-based Sembcorp Indus- For green hydrogen, power has to particularly given the uncertainty in- Several green ammonia projects
tries actively involved in these efforts. companies have been shortlisted to tries has also announced that it would be necessarily renewable power such as volved with regard to production costs are also being planned. Ammonia is
develop ~15,000-MW of electrolyser set up 200-ktpa green ammonia plant in solar and/or wind and certainly cannot of green hydrogen and availability & feedstock for the production of several
Indian scenario capacity, and the projects are in various Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, with an invest- be power generated from fossil fuels stability in the supply of solar and wind fertilisers such as urea, ammonium
The Strategic Intervention for stages of planning or implementation. ment of Rs. 36,388-crore. like coal or crude oil. power. nitrate, and diammonium phosphate – all
Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) of which are produced in huge quanti-
programme was launched by the Indian US-based Ohmium has commenced Weak links in the chain: It is argued that the price of solar Transportation issues ties in the world. Expensive green
Government to promote green hydrogen operation at its plant with the capacity of The enthusiasm of governments power and wind power have now The costs and reliability of trans- hydrogen would considerably increase
projects in a big way. 2,000-MW in India. Further, Ohmium all over the world for green hydrogen become much less and the low price of porting green hydrogen from produc- the production costs of such green ammo-
is planning to set up an electrolyser projects and the industry’s response are renewal power will certainly reduce the tion to consumption centres is still not nia based fertilisers, putting them
India’s National Green Hydrogen and green hydrogen manufacturing both impressive. However, there are cost of production of green hydrogen to very clear. beyond the reach of farmers.
Mission aims to produce 5-mtpa of green facility in Tamil Nadu with an initial several weak links in the green hydro- some extent.
hydrogen by 2030, and the govern- investment of around Rs. 400-crore. gen chain that need to be recognized There is no consensus yet about the For example, the European Com
and thought about before going for At the same time, it is necessary to transportation cost of green hydrogen mission has given approval for a €998-mn
massive projects. take note of the lack of consistency in and whether existing natural gas pipe- subsidy scheme put forward by the
generation of renewable power for the lines can be put to use. Further, there Dutch government to support at least
Viewing the pace of announce- green hydrogen projects. As is well are technical constraints related to 200-MW of green hydrogen production
ments for green hydrogen projects and known, solar and wind power genera- pipeline transmission. For instance, the capacity. The Dutch government will
proposed huge investments in several tion is seasonal, depends on climatic embrittlement of steel and welds used provide grants worth up to 80% of the
countries, one gets the impression that conditions and is not available through- in fabricating hydrogen-carrying pipe- upfront investment cost of the projects,
these weak links are not being given out the day. As a result, the capa- lines can be an issue. Further, control- as well as a variable costs over a period
adequate attention and there seems to city utilisation of solar and wind power ling hydrogen permeation and leaks, as of 5-10 years.
be wishful thinking that the constraints plants are only ~20%. well as a reliable and durable compres-
would somehow be overcome. sion technology at acceptable cost for To what extent other governments,
Can the world generate adequate transportation of green hydrogen by including in India, can subsidise green
Production costs quantity of solar and wind power in a pipeline is another issue. hydrogen/ammonia projects is a ques-
The current electrolysis process for consistent manner to meet the require- tion for which there are as yet no clear
producing green hydrogen by electro- ment of large number of green hydro- Are we putting the cart before the answers.
lysis from water is power-intensive gen projects proposed?. It would be horse?
and the production cost is higher than ironical if power based on fossil fuels, Given the uncertainties with regard Investments in green hydrogen
for grey hydrogen made from fossil which causes emissions, are used to to generating green hydrogen in a cost- projects are hence currently a calcu-
fuels. While the former currently costs supply power for hydrogen projects. effective manner, it is surprising that lated risk!

172 Chemical Weekly October 1, 2024 Chemical Weekly October 1, 2024 173

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