India Hydrogen Alliance Makes Various Submissions to Govt Seeking Budgetary Support

The India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) has made various submissions to the government seeking budgetary support for the development of a hydrogen economy in India, according to the sources.

IH2A is an industry-led coalition of global and Indian companies committed to the creation of a hydrogen value-chain and economy in India.

IH2A works with private sector partners, the government and the public to ensure that costs of hydrogen production are brought down, and a local supply chain for hydrogen and industrial, power and transport sector demand is created. Lead members include Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, Chart Industries, and others.

IH2A has made submissions to the government for budgetary support for creation of 10 National BharatH2 Clusters, a USD 1 billion Hydrogen Economy Development Fund (HEDF) and a Public-Private Hydrogen Taskforce, in the Union Budget for 2022-23, IH2A said in a statement.

“Funding support is critical for development of a hydrogen economy in India. A comprehensive set of policy interventions and budget incentives covering the entire hydrogen value chain are needed.

“Public and private funding for hydrogen should cover the entire supply chain – from production and supply-side, storage and transport as well as demand side to encourage industrial off-take in hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy,” Jill Evanko, Chief Executive and President, Chart Industries, and founding member, IH2A, said.

IH2A estimates that India will need investments of about USD 25 billion, from public and private sectors, to create a domestic hydrogen supply chain with national installed electrolyser capacity of 25 GW producing 5 million tonnes per annum of Green Hydrogen by 2030.

“We have proposed a Hydrogen Economy Development Fund to be created to fund at least 10 GW-scale National H2 Projects by end 2022 bringing together consortia of industry players to create the first-generation of national hydrogen clusters,” Evanko said.

IH2A said coordinated public-private actions will be required to develop the first generation of large-scale commercial hydrogen projects.

“We have also proposed a public-private Bharat H2 Taskforce that will act as the combined expert advisory group, bringing together national and global hydrogen expertise in hydrogen technology, project development, safety standards and funding, to all Indian stakeholders.

“The creation of the public-private Bharat H2 Taskforce is critical for meeting the national ambitions for hydrogen commercialization and developing a domestic supply chain in India,” Evanko said.

IH2A has also recommended creation of a nodal office for the hydrogen economy, as a specialised cell to work across all central ministries.