India aims to position itself as global hub for green hydrogen: PM Modi | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced his plan to make India a global hub for green hydrogen (GH2), building on the country’s achievement of becoming the first among the G20 economies to meet the green energy commitments made at the 2021 UN climate conference in Paris (CO), nine years ahead of the 2030 target.
“We are not resting on our laurels and the country continues to focus on strengthening existing solutions, while also looking at new and innovative areas. This is where green hydrogen comes into the picture… We aim to position India as a global hub for the production, use and export of green hydrogen. National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) launched in 2023 is a crucial step towards realizing this ambition. It will stimulate innovation, build infrastructure, boost industry growth and attract investments into the sector,” he said in his inaugural speech delivered virtually at the 2nd International Green Hydrogen Conference.
Modi pointed out that India’s installed non-fossil fuel capacity “has increased by 300% and solar capacity has seen a 3,000% boost” in the past 10 years. He said GH2 can help decarbonise heavy industries and long-haul transport. GH2 is produced by electrolysis using renewable energy rather than extraction from natural gas, which is called ‘grey’.
The rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity since 2014, when Modi first became prime minister, forms the basis for NGHM with a target of reaching five million tonnes of annual GH2 production capacity by 2030. The government is providing a production-linked incentive of Rs 13,050 crore for GH2 production and Rs 4,440 crore for electrolyser production.
Minister of Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said NGHM has the potential to attract Rs 8 lakh crore in investments, create six lakh jobs and lead to savings of Rs 1 lakh crore by reducing import of natural gas and ammonia. Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said NGHM will reduce 15 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.