India, to play a vital role in Europe's green hydrogen supply chain

Stefan Kaufmann, former hydrogen commissioner of Germany and advisor to ThyssenKrupp, suggested at the Economic Times Global Business Summit that India, located between Germany and Australia, could play a vital role in Europe's green hydrogen supply chain.

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced from renewable sources like wind and solar power and is climate-neutral. While Europe aims to produce about 100 GW of green hydrogen by 2030, it may have to import more green hydrogen than it exports in the near future. Kaufmann emphasized the need to look beyond Europe to regions with abundant renewable energy sources. He cited the example of Germany's hydrogen potential atlas for 31 western African countries and its strategic cooperation agreement with Australia, which identified the regulatory, technical, and economic obstacles that need to be overcome to develop a green hydrogen supply chain over long distances.

India, with its favorable production conditions, could help bridge this gap. Kaufmann said that the cost of transporting hydrogen from regions with an abundance of sun and wind-like India-was negligible compared to the production costs. He noted that India's efforts to position itself in the green hydrogen value chain between Australia and Europe were in line with the EU's Indo-Pacific cooperation strategy.

India's national green hydrogen mission aims to manufacture five million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, but Kaufmann questioned whether India would use the green hydrogen to decarbonize its economy or export it. He highlighted the global trend toward hydrogen, with major investments totaling $240 billion by 2030 announced in 680 hydrogen projects, of which 10% are under construction or operational. This trend may lead to the dominance of the hydrogen economy in the years to come.

Source: Economic T