Rama Krishna Sangem
The Union Cabinet’s decision on January 4, Wednesday, to kickstart National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) is a major move towards making India a hub of clean energy to the entire world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired Cabinet took stock of India’s commitment to the Net Zero (emissions policy) he pledged at Glasgow climate summit last year and made the first moves in this direction.
The Cabinet made an allocation of Rs 19,744 crore as total outlay to generate non-fossil energy up to 500 MW by 2030. Of this, Rs 17,490 crore will be given as incentives to manufacturing under a programme called SIGHT, while another Rs 1,466 crore for upcoming pilot projects and another Rs 400 crore for research and development, besides Rs 388 crore as mission components.
SIGHT stands for Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme. This National Green Hydrogen Mission was announced by PM Modi on August 15, 2021. Now that an allocation is made for this scheme, India will see spurt in production, utilization and export of green hydrogen to the entire world. India aims to become a major green hydrogen exporter to the world.
Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur who briefed the media about the allocation to Green Hydrogen, said that this mission would trigger ripple effects on the economy, by increasing activity in big and small and medium scale industries in the coming years. “This will result in manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen, two main streams of activity,” he said.
Pilot Projects of Green Hubs
The mission will 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, said Thakuar. An enabling policy framework will be developed soon to support establishment of green hydrogen ecosystem.
Further, a public-private partnership framework for research and development named as SHIP – Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – will be facilitated under the mission. Globally competitive technologies will be promoted at these R&D centres. This will spur employment for skilled youth and promote exports. These centres will be set up on a specific timelines.
The Center will soon coordinate with all departments at the national level and with states to see that the mission is put in place successfully. In fact, Telangana government has already announced its readiness to go for green hydrogen related projects on a big way given its advantages on many fronts. This Green Hydrogen Mission is also supported by the US and other developed countries.
