Indian hydrogen body submits $5bn development plan for five green hydrogen hubs

Industry body India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) has submitted a National Green Hydrogen Hub Economic Viability and Development Plan to the Government of India, with potential to create five large National Green Hydrogen Corporations worth $5bn by 2030, through public-private partnerships.

According to IH2A, its plan seeks public finance support for green hydrogen production and off-take to create the necessary infrastructure between 2024 – 2030.

The corporations created through the investment will be publicly listed to help fund the next wave of investments designed to scale up the hydrogen economy.

Originating out of a reference economic model of the Green Kochi Hydrogen Hub (GKH2), the plan was prepared as a 50:50 public-private Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with a 150 megawatt (MW) electrolyser capacity, storage and evacuation infrastructure, renewable energy inputs, green ammonia production plants and off-take by industrial and mobility users, with a $468m CAPEX outlay over a 20-year project period.

Commenting on the announcement, Jill Evanko, Chief Executive and President of Chart Industries (Chart), and founding member of IH2A, called the Plan a pathway for India to accelerate Green Hydrogen Hub development.

"India can leapfrog other economies on green hydrogen development by sharing the risks and rewards of green hydrogen project development between public and private sectors."

Emphasising the need for public finance support for national hubs, she added that India is set to announce at least one of these large-scale green hydrogen hubs during the G20 Summit this year.

"The Indian government stands to gain significantly from this approach, which demonstrates how India can create a National Green Hydrogen Unicorn within the next seven years."

IH2A has also submitted proposals for state-level green ammonia and hydrogen hubs to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The economic modelling of the Plan is based on assumptions regarding, public finance incentives, renewable energy costs, end-use off-take and project structuring on a public-private partnership format, according to Amrit Singh Deo, Senior Managing Director of FTI Consulting, and IH2A Secretariat Lead.

"The model is replicable and demonstrates that a financially viable green hydrogen can be designed and built. The model can be supported with techno-commercial studies, and should accelerate project development," he added.

Earlier this year, New Delhi approved a deal worth more than $2bn which aims to promote green hydrogen in an effort to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and become a key exporter in the sector.

A report by Reuters revealed that the government will give incentives worth at least 30 Indian rupees ($0.36) per kg for production of green hydrogen fuel, according to an unidentified source.

The cost of manufacturing green hydrogen in India is currently at around 300 rupees ($3.63) per kg.

India has set targets for half of its installed electricity capacity to be from non-fuel sources by 2030 and for the country to reach Net Zero by 2070.