Green hydrogen critical to economic development and net-zero ambitions: NITI Aayog

New Delhi, Jun 30: NITI Aayog has highlighted that green hydrogen can substantially spur industrial decarbonization and economic growth for India in the coming decades. The NITI Aayog report titled 'Harnessing Green Hydrogen: Opportunities for Deep Decarbonization in India' was launched by Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

 

 

 

 

The NITI Aayog report provides a pathway to accelerate the emergence of a green hydrogen economy, which is critical for India to achieve its net-zero ambitions by 2070. The report, co-authored by NITI Aayog and RMI, underscores that green hydrogen—produced by renewable energy through electrolysis of water—will be crucial for achieving decarbonization of harder-to-abate sectors such as, fertilizers, refining, methanol, maritime shipping, iron and steel and transport. It further states that with emerging global momentum on hydrogen, India can situate the decarbonization opportunity not just within the context of a low-carbon economy but also as an enabler of energy security and economic development for the nation.

 

 

Speaking on the occasion, Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog said, "An important message of the report was that green hydrogen can potentially provide a replacement of fossil fuels in industrial processes.” He further added, “The next steps at the policy level could involve arriving at the correct mix between mandates and regulations and price instruments.”

 

 

 

 

 

CEO Amitabh Kant briefing the report said that the report was an outcome of detailed study spread over a year. He highlighted the importance of green hydrogen from the point of view of energy security and the need to achieve size and scale to push down costs of green hydrogen. He remarked that, given the right policies, India can emerge as the least cost producer and bring down the price of green hydrogen to USD 1 per kg by 2030.

 

While hydrogen can be produced from multiple sources, India’s distinct advantage in low-cost renewable electricity means that green hydrogen will emerge as the most cost-effective form. The report concludes that hydrogen demand in India could grow more than fourfold by 2050, representing almost 10 pc of global demand. Given that the majority of this demand could be met with green hydrogen in the long term, the cumulative value of the green hydrogen market in India could reach USD 8 billion by 2030.