The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved National Green Hydrogen Mission.
Outlay
The initial outlay for the mission will be Rs.19,744 crore, including an outlay of Rs.17,490 crore for the SIGHT (Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme) initiative, Rs.1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs.400 crore for R&D, and Rs.388 crore towards other Mission components.
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be responsible for overall coordination and implementation of the Mission. As part of its mandate, MNRE will formulate the scheme guidelines for implementation of the respective components.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) will result in the following likely outcomes by 2030:
- Development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 million tonnes per year, with an associated renewable energy capacity of about 125 GW
- Over Rs.8 lakh crore in total investments
- Creation of over six lakh jobs
- Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports over Rs. 1 lakh crore
- Abatement of nearly 50 million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions
Wide-ranging benefits
A government note that the mission will have wide ranging benefits such as:
- creation of export opportunities for green hydrogen and its derivatives
- decarbonisation of industrial, mobility and energy sectors
- reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock
- development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities
- creation of employment opportunities; and development of cutting-edge technologies
Financial incentive
NGHM will facilitate demand creation, production, utilization and export of Green Hydrogen. Under SIGHT, two distinct financial incentive mechanisms – targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen – will be provided.
The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways. Regions capable of supporting large scale production and/or utilization of Hydrogen will be identified and developed as green hydrogen hubs.
Policy framework
An enabling policy framework will be developed to support establishment of green hydrogen ecosystem. A robust Standards and Regulations framework will be also developed. Further, a public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) will be facilitated under the Mission; R&D projects will be goal-oriented, time bound, and suitably scaled up to develop globally competitive technologies. A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken.
Coordinated steps
All ministries, departments, agencies and institutions of the central and state governments concerned will undertake focused and coordinated steps to ensure successful achievement of the mission objectives.
Also See: T&D India’s special report on green hydrogen
