IOC, L&T, ReNew announce joint venture for India green hydrogen business

IndianOil and L&T to form separate JV to manufacture and sell electrolysers.

State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and renewable energy player ReNew Power have announced a joint venture (JV) company to develop the nascent green hydrogen sector in India.

India plans to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. In February, the government launched the country’s first green hydrogen policy as part of its energy transition plan.

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries recently announced setting up a facility to produce green hydrogen. Adani Enterprises also announced a new company — Adani Petrochemicals — to venture into green fuels.

SN Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director of L&T, said the JV would focus on developing the projects in a time-bound manner to supply green hydrogen at an industrial scale.

“While L&T will bring its strong EPC credentials to the table, IOC being India’s premier oil refiner with extensive capabilities in chemical processes and refining has established deep R&D capabilities in many aspects of the green hydrogen value chain. ReNew Power has in a short time established itself as a leading renewable energy supplier and has built itself a very strong reputation,” he said.

Additionally, IndianOil and L&T have signed a binding term sheet to form a JV with equity participation to manufacture and sell electrolyzers used in the production of green hydrogen.

“Both these JVs aim to enable the nation’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ mission to rapidly build, expand, and bring in economies of scale to make green hydrogen a cost-effective energy carrier and a chemical feedstock for many sectors,” Subrahmanyan said.

Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of IndianOil, said the partnership, to start with, would focus on green hydrogen projects at the company’s Mathura and Panipat refineries. “Alongside, other green hydrogen projects in India will also be evaluated. While the usage of hydrogen in the mobility sector will take its due time, the refineries will be the pivot around which India’s green hydrogen revolution will materialise in a substantial way.”