Promoting green hydrogen in hard-to-abate industries in India

Context

India plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2070. To achieve this, the country is prioritising the use of renewable energies.

While fossil fuels can be replaced by cheaper electricity from renewable energies in many industries, electrification of this kind is not possible in industries such as iron ore, steel or ammonia production and shipping. Green hydrogen, an energy source derived from renewable energy sources and water, can provide an environmentally friendly alternative in such cases and reduce emissions in these industries.

India is currently the world’s second largest producer of raw steel and the second largest consumer of steel. The country also produces six million tonnes of grey hydrogen a year from fossil fuels – with high CO2 emissions and devastating climate impacts.

Objective

With improved framework conditions, the Indian Government is better positioned to use green hydrogen in hard-to-abate industries.

Approach

The project provides technical support through the following measures:

• It analyses international experience and formulates recommendations that can be used by public institutions to establish framework conditions for the use of green hydrogen and to accelerate the implementation of India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission.
• It prepares pre-feasibility studies and concepts, thus improving the decision-making basis for companies deciding to use green hydrogen in hard-to-abate industries.
• It improves the prerequisites for a gender-equitable participation of actors from the fields of politics, business, the academic and scientific community and civil society in India’s green hydrogen sector through training, mentoring programmes and networking.

Last update: December 2024