 "Hydrogen, H2, clean energy, carbon emissions")
India plans to use hydrogen in a big way, including extracting it from coal, as part of a bouquet of measures towards achieving a net zero carbon emissions target. With China and 65 other countries having announced such a target already, the government is working on a feasible roadmap to make similar commitments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had indicated as much at the Climate Ambition Summit on Friday. “We must not only revise our ambitions, but also review our achievements against targets already set… India will not only meet its own targets, but will also exceed your expectations,” he said.
Hence, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is asking for additional money for a hydrogen mission and has moved a cabinet note on it. The ministry has been supported by Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat, who has pitched for hydrogen extraction from a range of options, including coal and biogas. If the plan is adopted, the axe could, to some extent, fall on the expansion plans of the natural gas economy.
A simulation exercise by Niti Aayog shows that clean hydrogen could cut up to 34 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But this needs a supportive policy environment. Hence the cabinet note for extra funds to expand the use of hydrogen. The Niti Aayog has also recommended that the gas pipelines being laid across the country should eventually be used to transport hydrogen.
Different ministries feel that it would be possible to adopt this mix of approaches as the price of renewable energy has reached a low of Rs 2 per unit. Besides, globally, breakthrough advances in carbon capture technology are expected soon. This will leave more room for the use of coal to make hydrogen. Coal-based power generation can grow to 248 GW in FY27 from the current 206 GW (as on August 2020).
Hydrogen is mostly extracted from natural gas, but India, under its aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) route, wants to deploy coal at one end and renewable energy at the other to extract hydrogen. India has large reserves of coal and the price of electricity generated from renewable energy is falling every year. The country imports almost 50 per cent of the natural gas it consumes, and the percentage is expected to go up despite efforts to locate domestic sources. So it is attractive to use technology employing both these options. These demonstrations could put a question mark on India’s hunger for natural gas.
However, an expert said that since natural gas will be required for the production of urea and as fuel for domestic cooking for the foreseeable future, the current levels of imports are unlikely to be affected. But there is no doubt that the government is now far more keen to tap into hydrogen than natural gas.
“India should exclusively focus on electrolysis until carbon capture and storage is a viable option for integration with coal-based hydrogen generation,” Saraswat said at a recent energy sector event.
Hydrogen is not a fuel, but, like electricity, is an efficient carrier of energy. While automobiles and railways are moving to renewable energy-based generation of electricity, industrial units such as those that produce steel or cement cannot get the heat they need from these sources. Hydrogen, though, can generate the required level of heat.
The catch is that currently hydrogen is generated primarily from natural gas through a process known as steam methane reform. However, if it can be generated by splitting water in an electrolysis reaction, it becomes what is known as blue hydrogen — a renewable energy source.
Going Green
> Clean hydrogen could reduce up to 34 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions
> India wants to deploy coal at one end and renewable energy at the other to extract hydrogen
> Hydrogen is not a fuel, but, like electricity, is an efficient carrier of energy
> MNRE estimates that each kilo of hydrogen can be generated in a range of Rs 200 to Rs 250, which is comparable to other energy prices
Both MNRE and Niti Aayog mandarins believe that it is more economical to produce hydrogen through electrolysis. By 2025, electrolysis capacity globally is expected to grow 55 times compared to 2015.
They are also hopeful that in another five years, the technology for carbon capture and sequestration will have matured enough to make coal-based hydrogen generation a green option. The process is as follows: In a two-stage reaction of coal with steam under high pressure, the final output is hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen shall be used while the technology of carbon capture will ensure that no carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Since hydrogen extracted from natural gas also leaves a carbon dioxide residue, Indian experts reckon it is better to invest in the abundant domestic coal reserves to do the trick.
“When considering a pathway to keep the rise of global temperature within 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, hydrogen consistently plays a critical role. There is no other viable pathway to decarbonisation,” the Niti Aayog member said. At current prices of renewable energy, MNRE estimates that each kilo of hydrogen can be generated in a range of Rs 200 to Rs 250, which is comparable to other energy prices.
Last week, Indian Oil and UK-based LanzaTech offered the media a demonstration of the process of capturing carbon dioxide using bio waste and refinery residues.
