French engineering company Technip Energies has inked an agreement aimed at accelerating the development of green hydrogen in India.
Technip has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian renewable-energy player Greenko Group’s ZeroC subsidiary to explore green hydrogen project development opportunities.
The newly formed partnership will explore green hydrogen opportunities across multiple sectors, including India’s refining, petrochemicals, fertiliser, chemical and power plant sectors.
The duo will step up collaborative opportunities on a “build-own-operate” model, where Greenko will be the operator and owner of the asset, while Technip will provide support with engineering services, integration and engineering, procurement and construction for pilot and commercial scale green hydrogen and related projects.
Technip stated it brought its “hydrogen expertise”, integration capabilities, EPC project management skills and regional footprint to the partnership, while Greenko claims to have the “technological know-how”, expertise and assets in renewable energy, with its experience spanning solar, wind and hydro.
“Energy Transition is key for India in its fight against climate change and quest for energy independence. Greenko has an established expertise and asset base in RE generation & storage alongside investments in electrolyser technology,” Greenko ZeroC chief operating officer Gautam Reddy said.
Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas feedstocks, with the carbon dioxide by-product from hydrogen production captured and stored. However, the process is not emissions free.
Green hydrogen is made using electrolysis powered by renewable energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, creating an emissions-free fuel.
“With these strengths, our tie-up with a world-class engineering and technology company like Technip Energies enables the partnership to deliver optimal, expedited, large-scale carbon-neutral solutions that India needs.”
India’s hydrogen ambition
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for India to become a global hub for green hydrogen production and exports.
Modi launched the national hydrogen mission last year, which is largely focused on the production of green hydrogen, with a target for India’s renewable energy capacity to reach 450 gigawatts by 2030.
Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is throwing its weight behind green hydrogen and building out its own renewable generation capacity.
Reliance chairman, and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani unveiled an ambitious plan last year for Reliance to invest $10.1 billion in clean energy.
He also claimed Reliance was aiming to bring down the cost of producing green hydrogen to below $2 per kilogram, while it has set a stretch goal of bringing that cost down to under $1 per kilogram within 10 years as it targets 100 GW of renewable generation capacity by 2030.
Fellow Indian company Adani Group is looking to rival Reliance's green ambitions, with chairman Gautam Adani revealing a plan to invest $20 billion over the next decade in renewable-energy generation and component manufacturing.
In addition to setting a goal to become “the producer of the least expensive green electron anywhere in the world”, Adani also claims his company will become one of the largest green hydrogen producers in the world.
