L&T's first electrolyser factory to start commercial operations soon

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is expected to soon start commercial operations from its first electrolyser factory, the company said.

“The factory is ready, and the formal announcement and inauguration will be done shortly,” L&T said in a response to Business Standard.

With an initial capacity of 150-200 megawatt (MW), this would be L&T’s first electrolyser factory.

Derek Shah, senior vice-president at L&T and head of green manufacturing and development had earlier this year noted that during the first phase, the company looks to supply electrolysers to a mix of Indian procurers and foreign markets, with a 70:30 ratio.

L&T is developing these electrolysers in partnership with French company McPhy and has set up this factory at its Hazira facility, which company executives have earlier noted was to be built for an investment of Rs 500 crore. Electrolysers are the main equipment required to produce green hydrogen (H2).

In addition to L&T, other conglomerates such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and Adani Enterprises (AEL) are looking at electrolyser manufacturing facilities as part of their larger new energy ecosystems.

On Monday, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director for RIL, said the solar PV factory, part of the new energy business, will go on-stream by the end of this year. In August, AEL said the test laboratory for its electrolyser manufacturing was commissioned in the quarter ended June, 2024.

“India needs more H2 FID-stage project development, to absorb this H2 equipment manufacturing capacity,” Amrit Singh Deo, senior managing director at FTI Consulting, noted.