Working on hydrogen-natural gas synergy, broader role for former: Pradhan

Minister says role of hydrogen to go beyond transport, embrace chemicals, iron, steel, fertiliser and refining, among other areas

India is taking steps to establish synergy between hydrogen and natural gas to ensure speedier adoption of the former, according to Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Speaking at the inaugural edition of the Hydrogen Economy: New Delhi Dialogue, Pradhan also said, that the role of hydrogen is not going to be limited to only transport sector.

“The maturity of the ecosystem can be accelerated through its usage as a decarbonising agent for a range of sectors, including industry covering chemicals, iron, steel, fertiliser and refining, transport, heat (domestic & industrial) and power,” he said.

“By establishing synergies with natural gas, hydrogen can be easily adopted in the energy mix without seeking major infrastructural overhauling. We are looking forward to introduce H-CNG as an intermittent technology in a big way for both automotive and domestic cooking applications,” he added.

Commenting on the development for kick starting the hydrogen ecosystem development, Pradhan said, “Our refineries are planning to leverage the available surplus hydrogen capacities for meeting the initial demand in mainstreaming hydrogen. One of such projects is underway at our Gujarat refinery of IndianOil wherein the combination of hydrogen production through natural gas and its hyphenation with the carbon capture technology, will result in the production of blue hydrogen. Multiple buses powered by fuel cells will be covering various iconic routes.”    

Pradhan also said that efforts are underway to leverage the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pipeline infrastructure to reduce the transportation cost of hydrogen.