Indian government approved on Wednesday a $2.4 billion plan to promote the green hydrogen industry to reduce carbon emissions and become a major exporter in the field.
Green hydrogen, also called renewable hydrogen, can be used as fuel. It is produced from electrolysis of water in a process powered by renewable energy, so does not generate polluting carbon emissions.
Countries such as the US, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and EU members have invested billions in strategies to develop green hydrogen projects.
The fuel is currently expensive, and India’s incentive plan, the National Green Hydrogen Mission, aims to reduce production costs and increase the scale of the industry by 2030.
“The mission aims to make India a global hub for production, utilization and export of green hydrogen,” Information Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that approved the plan on Wednesday.
“(It) will help India in becoming energy-independent and in decarbonisation of major sectors of the economy.”
The project targets the production of 5 million tons of green hydrogen generating 125 GW of power a year by 2030, cutting about 50 million tons of annual carbon emissions.
It is also forecast to help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut import costs by 1 trillion rupees. The development is also expected to help the country, the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
