India plans $2 billion incentive for green hydrogen industry

India is planning a $2 billion incentive program for the green hydrogen industry in a bid to cut emissions and become a major export player in the field.

 

The 180-billion-rupee ($2.2 billion) incentive aims to reduce the production cost of green hydrogen by a fifth over the next five years, said a senior government official and an industry manager working in renewable energy. It would do this in part by increasing the scale of the industry, they said.

The current cost in India is 300 rupees to 400 rupees per kg, said the manager.

The United States and the European Union have already approved incentives worth billions of dollars for green hydrogen projects.

Hydrogen can be used as a fuel. It is made by splitting water with an electrical process, electrolysis. If the devices that do that, electrolysers, are powered by renewable energy, the product is called green hydrogen, a fuel free of greenhouse emissions.

The Indian aid could be announced in the Feb. 1 budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1, said the government official. All sources declined to be named discussing a budget proposal.

Indian companies such as Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, NTPC, Adani Enterprises, JSW Energy and Acme Solar have big plans on green hydrogen.

Adani, led by the world's third-richest person, Gautam Adani, said in June that it and France's TotalEnergies would jointly create the "world's largest green hydrogen ecosystem".