Hydrogen - The next Energy Source of the World ( A Paradigm Shift)

National Hydrogen Mission launched to promote the Hydrogen Ecosystem in India is a great initiative that would help India to meets its Green Energy target of 450 GW by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality and net zero emission targets by 2070.

?The potential of hydrogen to be a game changer in the Energy mix considering the versatility of hydrogen which can be used in Transportation, Power Generation and other Industry at large with very low and negligible carbon footprint.

Globally the primary source of Hydrogen is coal and natural gas. Hydrogen is produced from coal by partial oxidation through endothermic process ,producing heat and CO2. Carbon dioxide produced reacts with carbon in the coal to produce carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon Mono-oxide is further reacted with steam to produce carbon dioxide to produce hydrogen and carbon -dioxide. Most of the large scale production of H2 in India is through natural gas or Coal. Hydrogen produced is not a net zero fuel as CO2 is emitted through combustion and thermal decomposition reactions. However still its much better that fossil fuels which contributes directly to global emissions .Another process which is through Electrolysis of water is a better solution as the by-product is hydrogen and oxygen.

?INSAT ( Institute of Nano science and technology ) has developed large scale reactor which can produce substantial amount of hydrogen using sustainable resources like Sunlight and water. Further the electricity for such process can be generated and consumed through RE Sources. The Hydrogen generated through Green Energy Sources is called GREEN Hydrogen. Similarly the Hydrogen generated through low carbon process in called BLUE Hydrogen. As transportation contributes 29% of the Global Emissions ,exploring viable opportunities to slowly phase out Gasoline with H2 based fuel is the future towards Green Energy transition. Companies like Hyundai , BMW and Tata Motors in India have already initiated pilot project utilizing H2 as a fuel for automobiles .

?Hyundai motors has been one of the pioneers to successfully engineer commercially viable project for its vehicles. Hyundai has launched TUCSON AND VISION FK-Concept car that purely utilizes hydrogen as a fuel ,similarly its running a pilot project in Switzerland to run Heavy Vehicles on Hydrogen based technology. The company has already ambitious target of phasing out ICE based engines by 2035. Green Hydrogen is expected to be competitive than fossil fuels in next 2-3 years supported by favorable policies and regulations. The levelized cost of hydrogen is expected to be reduced by $1 USD by 2025.

?The International Renewable Energy agency (IRENA) and the Hydrogen council have signed partnership agreement to jointly advance green hydrogen across Energy system.

?Hydrogen as a source is a great alterative to Battery Powered vehicles for Heavy segment automobiles. Its a complete shift in Energy Paradigm to Hydrogen. As the hydrogen ecosystem sets in with the logistical infrastructure ,hydrogen is going to be more viable alterative to convectional sources. By 2030 the price of FCVE (Fuel Cells Vehicles) would be comparable with ICE (internal combustion). ?

In India ,US based company Ohmium Energy launched its 0.5 MW capacity electrolyzer Giagafactory at Bangalore to serve the Global demand. The company plans to based feeder factory for its Indian and global customers targeting customers from Refineries ,fertilizers and Gas distribution Industry.

?MNRE has been supporting a broad based Research Development and Demonstration (R&D) programme on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel. Projects are supported in industrial, academic and research institutions to address challenges in production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources, its safe and efficient storage, and its utilization for energy an transport applications through combustion or fuel cells.

?Two hydrogen Refueling stations have been established (one each at Indian Oil R&D Centre, Faridabad and National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram.