Indian Oil Targets Meeting 10% of Energy Requirements from Green Hydrogen by 2030

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is targeting to replace at least a tenth of its current fossil-fuel-based hydrogen at its refineries with carbon-free green hydrogen as part of a decarbonization drive.

To start with, the nation’s largest oil firm is setting up green hydrogen plants at its Panipat and Mathura refineries, IOC said in its latest annual report.

“The company is venturing into green hydrogen production and is targeting 5 per cent of hydrogen produced by it as green hydrogen by 2027-28 and 10 per cent by 2029-30,” it said.

In the annual report, IOC Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said to meet the net-zero commitment, the Indian government has announced the Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Policy to boost green hydrogen production to 5 million tonne by 2030 and make India an export hub for this clean fuel.

“Aligning with the national priority, Indian Oil will be producing green hydrogen in stages at the Mathura and Panipat refineries. As a first step, we will be implementing a 5 KTA (40 MW) green hydrogen plant at Mathura Refinery and a 2 KTA (16 MW) plant at Panipat Refinery,” he said.

To sync with the entire hydrogen value chain, the firm has forged crucial collaborations to develop green hydrogen production assets, associated renewable assets and manufacture electrolysers.

“This will be a gamechanger as electrolysers contribute to approximately 30 per cent of the overall cost of green hydrogen,” he said.

IOC, he said, is also exploring multiple hydrogen production pathways, including solar electrolysis, biomass gasification and bio-methanation.

“The hydrogen produced will be used for fuelling 15 fuel cell buses to establish the efficacy, efficiency and sustainability of the fuel cell technology and hydrogen production processes. In addition, we will commission a hydrogen dispensing station at the Gujarat Refinery to enlarge hydrogen-based mobility coverage,” he said.

IOC said it is looking to expand its footprint in the renewable power space from the present level of about 240 MW capacity.

While renewable energy plants currently produce electricity equivalent to 5 per cent of its electricity consumption, IOC is targeting nearly 5 GW of renewable electricity generation capacities by 2025 for use at its oil refineries.