Firms rush to tap into green hydrogen, three top cos corner large share

Greenko-John Cockeril latest to join league; RIL, L&T, Adani together set aside investment of nearly Rs 6 trillion, say analysts

Green hydrogen appears to be the new fuel that is powering the ambitions of India Inc. The announcement on Tuesday by Hyderabad-based Greenko group and Belgium-based John Cockeril to build a two-gigawatt hydrogen electrolyser gigafactory in India, the largest outside of China, has put the spotlight firmly on the sector.

While this is the latest announcement by an Indian company in the green hydrogen space, it will clearly not be the last, sector experts said. Last week, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and ReNew Power announced a joint venture to develop green hydrogen. Additionally, IOC and L&T also said that they would join hands to manufacture and sell electrolysers, used in the production of green hydrogen.

Apart from these, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Adani Enterprises had recently announced their forays into green hydrogen. While National Thermal Power Corporation and Gas Authority of India have been stitching up partnerships in recent months to shore up their presence in the sector.

Analysts estimate that RIL, L&T and Adani together have set aside an investment of nearly Rs 6 trillion in green hydrogen projects.

"RIL alone has earmarked Rs 5.6 trillion in renewable infrastructure including generation plants, solar panels and electrolysers. The strategy is to capture the entire value chain of green hydrogen," G Chokkalingam, founder & managing director (MD) of Mumbai-based Equinomics Research & Advisory, said.

Adani and L&T, on the other hand, have earmarked nearly Rs 26,000 crore and Rs 15,000 on green hydrogen, sector experts said.

The push by companies comes as the Indian government bets big on the sector, launching a green hydrogen policy in February.

"Green hydrogen has emerged as key to decarbonisation, since it is a clean energy source that can substitute fossil fuels, especially where electrification is not a viable option. India can become a leader in green hydrogen production and deployment as the government's push leads to greater investment and adoption by industry," Hemant Mallya, senior programme lead at the Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said.

The green hydrogen policy aims at facilitating green hydrogen production in India by easing the process through time-bound single-window clearances, allowing power banking of surplus unconsumed renewable power for 30 days and providing access to power grids and long-term transmission charge waivers.

The Greenko-John Cockeril partnership too will entail an investment of around Rs 4,000 crore in their two-gigawatt plant, according to analysts tracking the sector. Anil Chalamalasetty, Greenko's chief executive officer & MD said in a statement that the company was working towards re-industrialization solutions for a low-carbon economy.

"The partnership will strengthen India's green hydrogen ambitions as part of a wider renewable energy focus that will see India run the world's largest energy transition programme," he said.

SN Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and MD of L&T had said last week that its joint ventures in green hydrogen would help build, expand and bring in economies of scale in the sector.