New Delhi, Sep 3 (Agency) Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has said that India has the potential to become Global Hub of Green Hydrogen in near future. The Minister was speaking here at the ‘International Climate Summit 2021: Powering India’s Hydrogen Eco System’ which was attended by a galaxy of representatives from Central Ministries, Industry bodies, academia, energy experts and Diplomatic Missions. The summit was aimed to propel India towards a carbon-free energy ecosystem, following the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcement during his 75th Independence Day address to the nation to launch “National Hydrogen Energy Mission” making India into a global Green Hydrogen hub for production and exports. Dr Jitendra Singh said, India has set a target of renewable energy at 450 GW and is well on the path of achieving it.
He said, due to the lowest cost of renewable energy, India definitely stands at a better footing to produce Hydrogen at the lowest cost compared to the other countries and therefore, India is poised for a Hydrogen Export Hub. “By 2030, global annual export potential for green hydrogen is expected to be 10.4 million tons to East Asia and EU, amounting to nearly 20 billion USD market,” The Minister said. Dr. Jitendra Singh said India’s energy demand is likely to see exponential growth but at the same time India’s share of Renewable Energy (RE) is expected to reach at least 50% by 2050. “Renewable Energy can help abatement of only 45-50% CO2 emission and Green hydrogen is most suitable for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” he added. Minister of State for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Choubey said.
“The need of the hour is to cater to the depleting cover and growing concerns urgently, to create a sustainable platform for clean energy,”. During the summit, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, reiterated his commitment to invest Rs 75,000 crore over the next three years in green energy initiatives, including over 5000 acres Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar. During the summit the stakeholders decided to form an “International Hydrogen Alliance similar to International Solar Alliance to create opportunities for international partnerships in the ?eld of Green hydrogen. National Hydrogen Portal was launched during the summit and a call was made to set up Centers of Excellence in Hydrogen (CoE-H), for capacity building in the entire hydrogen value chain. The Hydrogen Portal will now become a one-stop information source for research, production, storage, transportation, and application of hydrogen across the country. “Promote Ladakh as a carbon-neutral model region was also decided during the event,” said in a the statement.