Green Hydrogen: A Viable Alternative for Current Energy Demand

Hydrogen can help India to save imports of fossil fuels worth 160 billion dollars which includes coal, petroleum, LNG, crude and ammonia. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India will overtake the European Union to become 3rd largest energy consumer by 2030. This will help India in making a new avenue of growth in terms of energy production to meet its growing demand for energy.

June 22, 2023. By News Bureau

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Green hydrogen

Central Agricultural University

Hydrogen is the most abundant element of the universe but it is not found in its free state or it is not found in its whole or true state in nature. Green hydrogen is a hydrogen fuel produced through a process called electrolysis i.e., splitting of water into its constituent elements oxygen and hydrogen through electrolyser using renewable sources of energy. The hydrogen thus produced through this process using renewable sources of energy is green hydrogen; other methods are accompanied by carbon emission.

Hydrogen is becoming a viable alternative to fossil fuel, crude oil, and pollution-making energy. Hydrogen fuel has made a grip on the thought of techno-optimists. Nearly 21 years have passed since the 21st century and all countries are looking towards the sustainable energy requirement.

As per article 2.1 of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the signatory countries aim to hold increasing temperature to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts towards the more ambitious limit of 1.5 degree Celsius, hydrogen can play a pivotal role in helping the world to reach net zero GHG emission by 2050. According to a report by the global hydrogen council, by 2050, hydrogen could contribute to more than 20 percent of the annual global emission reduction needed for the world to reach net zero emission.

Quest for Energy
The world is in need of a greater and more abundant source of energy than ever before. Its energy demand to a greater extent in the present time is fulfilled by fossil fuels. The appetite for energy is ever-growing so is the exploitation of fossil fuels. Global energy consumption per person has grown from 1586 KW in 1980 to 2981 in 2010 which has almost doubled in just 30 years.

The world population has already reached 8 billion and it is expected that it may reach up to 10 billion by the end of 2040. The growing population and energy-based human activities have increased energy demand in a very quick time. Still, we use traditional energy sources to fulfill energy demand which has given rise to global warming and climate change. Today, humanity is engaged in a war against climate change. Be it the Rio Summit of 1992 or the Paris Agreement of 2015, all these steps are taken with the aim of stopping climate change and controlling carbon emissions.

Crude Oil Price and Geopolitics
Oil and gas prices are soaring to new highs and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war continues to disrupt the supply chain of oil and gas due to some obvious reasons. As Russia is one of the largest oil-producing countries and a member of OPEC plus, it has the potential to control and manipulate the price of oil and natural gas.

The conflict among the Gulf nations in recent times has disrupted the demand and supply chain and it has also put a serious threat on global energy security. Be it a conflict between Iran and Iraq or between two rivalries of the Middle East i.e. Saudi Arabia and Iran potentially affect the price of oil and natural gas in the international market. The countries which are highly dependent on these countries have become more vulnerable because the oil price and its availability seriously affect the development of the countries. In this regard, there is a quest for an alternate source of energy that can sustain the economy, development and prosperity of a country without relying on a handful of oil-producing countries in a sustainable way.

Green hydrogen is one of the renewable sources of energy which could be a promising solution to this extant problem of energy demand. It has the potential to meet the goal of decarbonisation of our earth.

Current Global Status
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), hydrogen will make up to 12 percent of energy mix by 2050. The agency has suggested that 66 percent of the total hydrogen should come from water not from natural gas.

For a sustainable and affordable energy future, hydrogen could be a clean energy mix. Green hydrogen fuel has the potential to drive the transition of the energy sector from fossil fuel to renewable energy.

According to data by the Hydrogen Council, around 18 percent of the world’s total energy needs in coming years will be supplied through hydrogen technologies and it will be able to power around 425 million vehicles around the world by 2050. As per a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2020, the total global electrolyser capacity produced mostly through grid electricity was 0.3 GW which could reach 17 GW by 2026 based on planned projects in nearly 30 countries.

Prospects in India
Along with the private sector, the public sector is also very interested in the hydrogen economy. In the year 2021, on the occasion of the 75th independence day i.e., August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Hydrogen Mission with INR. 800 crore budget which aims to meet its climate targets and make India a green hydrogen hub and produce five million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.

Energy is a key resource that can potentially boost or can cripple the economy of any developing and growing economy like India. The threat of global warming is increasing. The United Nations IPCC has given a code red due to an increase in human activities level.

The market is demanding carbon-free products. Hydrogen has immense potential for emission-free India. According to TERI, the annual demand for hydrogen in India is 6Mt which mostly comes from fertilizer and refinery which can increase up to 28 Mt by 2050 and 40 Mt by 2060 if we have to achieve net zero carbon emission.

Hydrogen can help India to save imports of fossil fuels worth 160 billion dollars which includes coal, petroleum, LNG, crude and ammonia.According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India will overtake the European Union to become 3rd largest energy consumer by 2030. This will help India in making a new avenue of growth in terms of energy production to meet its growing demand for energy.

Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh, said while addressing the First EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum on September 8, 2022, that the time for green hydrogen has arrived in India. For the purpose of manufacturing green hydrogen, RK Singh has invited private players with technology in India and abroad to initiate competitive bidding.

Reliance Industries has announced plans to become a carbon-neutral entity by 2035. MukeshAmbani is going to invest INR 75000 crore in clean energy projects. A large chunk of the total budget of INR 75000 crore will be used to build the hydrogen cell Giga factory and to produce hydrogen electrolysers. This can be a boost to the nascent hydrogen economy. India has also formed the ‘India H2 Alliance’, to facilitate the hydrogen economy. This alliance has the purpose to work with the government to commercialise hydrogen technology and systems so that net zero carbon pathways can be made.

Conclusion
It can be avowedly said that soon, hydrogen could replace natural gas. Hydrogen can play a pivotal role in helping the world to reach net zero Green House Gas emissions by 2050. According to a report by the Hydrogen Council, by 2050, hydrogen could contribute to more than 20 percent of the annual global emission reduction needed for the world to reach net zero emission. The energy crisis is now and we need a robust policy, strong infrastructure and investment for green hydrogen to move from niche to mainstream in the coming years.

- Dr. Pradip D Narale; Santosh Pathak; Prof. Mahendra S. Seveda, College of Agricultural Engineering & Post Harvest Technology (Central Agricultural University, Imphal)