The Hydrogen War is On!

India, China, Europe, US – All Want a Share in the Hydrogen Pie

Trends in green and clean energy are fast evolving with each passing year. Some years ago we were hearing about wind and solar energy making on top of the energy charts, but today it is the Green Hydrogen hype. Green hydrogen is produced using clean energy sources. It is produced by extracting hydrogen gas from water using electrolyzers powered by wind and solar energy. Green Hydrogen is seen as the key to eliminating carbon emissions in the near future.

Green Hydrogen is on track to be cheaper than natural gas by 2050 in 15 of the 28 markets worldwide. It is expected that at least one-third of the world economy could be powered by clean energy at the same cost as done by fossil fuels. BNEF predicts the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources would fall by up to 85% by 2050 in most international markets. As a result, the Hydrogen War is On! between countries worldwide.  According to Accenture, Germany plans to invest $10.6 billion while France and Portugal are targeting seven billion euros each. Britain plans to spend $16.6 billion, while Japan and China are planning to spend $3 billion and $16 billion, respectively by 2020 on this technology. Europe, in particular, is trying aggressively to catch the Green Hydrogen train as it missed to create a major market share in solar and battery technology.

India too is doing its bit to stay put. India’s Reliance Industries, along with many global energy and industrial players has formed an energy transition coalition, called the India H2 Alliance (IH2A), recently. The alliance will work towards developing a hydrogen economy and commercializing hydrogen technologies. It is striving to develop specific use cases for industries like steel, refineries, fertilizers, cement, ports and logistics, as well as heavy-duty transport. If successful, there could be mandates for fertilizer, steel, and petrochemicals industries to shift to green hydrogen. They will also be focusing on developing India’s hydrogen policy and roadmap 2021-30 with the government’s support and guidance. Given the increasing demand for power and rising pollution levels, there seem to be tremendous opportunities for Green Hydrogen in India.