Green hydrogen headlines anew power transition; Adani, Siemens at the forefront

Big players such as Adani, Siemens, Reliance as well as up-and-coming companies like ACME have all shown considerable interest in adopting green hydrogen as the ‘fuel of the future’

According to multiple estimates, the global green hydrogen market could be worth as much as $700 billion by 2050. Some estimates go as high as $2.5 trillion, making one thing crystal clear: Green hydrogen has the potential to become the ‘fuel of the future’. Accordingly, the demand for green hydrogen is set to hit 650 million tons annually by 2025 from the paltry 72 tons currently.

India is one of the countries that has expressed an explicit interest in becoming a center for green hydrogen production. The Indian Government launched a National Hydrogen Mission in August and even drafted power market regulations for green hydrogen to be included towards any renewable purchase obligation (RPO). Big players such as Adani, Siemens, Reliance as well as up-and-coming companies like ACME have all shown considerable interest in adopting this new fuel to power their future operations.

In fact, ACME has gone ahead and set up a pilot plant for green hydrogen and green ammonia production in Rajasthan. The plant is the first of its kind specifically made for commercial-scale usage. The Group also signed a land agreement deal at the Omani Port of Duqm in August this year with similar intentions. The Omani plant will be located within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) area of the port and will utilize 3GW solar and 0.5GW wind energy to produce 2,400 TPD of green ammonia. The expected annual yield of the plant is somewhere around 0.9 million tonnes.

Big names like Reliance, Adani, Siemens have also announced their intentions to explore this new avenue of growth. Earlier this year, Adani signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Italian big shot Maire Tecnimont and its subsidiaries to explore the viability of green hydrogen and ammonia from renewable feedstock. Adani is one of India’s largest conglomerates with a significant presence in infrastructure and energy sectors.

Through its renewables arm, the group has over 15GW of renewable capacity under its wing and is looking to unlock green hydrogen’s potential in India too. After overhauling its set target of 25GW of renewables four years ahead of schedule, scaling up the green hydrogen economy in India is next on Adani’s agenda. The group committed $20 billion to be spent over the next 10 years in renewable energy generation including green hydrogen production.

Other than Adani, Siemens is another industry powerhouse that is experimenting with green hydrogen production and producing positive results. After releasing a white-paper that talked about the feasibility of green hydrogen production through renewable power projects, the company has taken up the construction and operation of a $197 million green hydrogen power plant in French Guiana. Groundbreaking projects like these will help cement green hydrogen’s reputation as a dependable fuel alternative for the coming future.

When the Indian government finally releases the details of the Green Hydrogen Mission, it will be interesting to see the provisions made. Given the fledgling state of the technology, the Centre will need to ensure a sizeable demand creation in the renewables market. A well-defined road map for the gradual transition and adoption of green hydrogen as an alternate fuel will be crucial too. It will also be intriguing to see if financial institutions will under-write such projects. But for now, green hydrogen is certainly enjoying its status as the next big thing.