How will India face up to the challenge of low-emission hydrogen production?

• Share of low-CO2 hydrogen just 1% of global production in CY'23
  
  
• Fossil-based H2 requires significant additional CAPEX for carbon capture
  
  
• 5 mnt of green H2 by 2030 huge challenge for India with high grid emissions
  
  

Morning Brief: Hydrogen has been identified as a key transition fuel in the global effort to limit warming to 1.5 degree celcius, as prescribed by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe; however, a significant amount of energy is needed to break down a molecule to get pure hydrogen, and that energy must come either from heat or electricity.

The diverse colours of the hydrogen spectrum signify the different feedstocks for hydrogen production, varied production technologies and routes, as well as the different byproducts of each production process. So, although hydrogen is considered a transition fuel, some forms of hydrogen are quite emissions intensive.

Hydrogen spectrum

Black, brown, and grey hydrogen are produced from breaking down coal or natural gas via heat-powered processes. The CO2 and CO byproducts are usually released directly into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Blue hydrogen is produced in a process similar to grey hydrogen with the addition of capturing and storing the CO2 byproducts. Turquoise hydrogen is also produced using natural gas as a feedstock. However, in contrast to blue hydrogen, there is no byproduct CO2, but rather solid carbon which can be reused as plastic, construction material, or tyres.

Hydrogen made from water and renewable electricity - solar, wind, geothermal - is called green hydrogen. The inputs (water), the power source (renewable-powered electricity), and the byproduct (oxygen) of this process are all virtually carbon free.

Pink hydrogen is produced via electrolysis but with nuclear energy powering the process instead of renewables.

Emissions accounting

The most disturbing fact, however, is that only 4% of global hydrogen production today is through electrolysis, the rest being accounted for by steam methane reforming (48%), oil reforming (30%) and coal gasification (18%), as per International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Low-emission hydrogen is being taken up very slowly in existing applications, accounting for just 0.7% of total hydrogen demand and 1% of global hydrogen production in 2023.

Cradle-to-gate emissions accounting is necessary to calculate the upstream emissions associated with hydrogen production. For example, natural gas-based hydrogen production has the stiff challenge of the emissions-intensive oil and gas supply chain and methane leakage associated with it. Even if 100% of CO2 capture in blue hydrogen production is made possible, still CO2 equivalent emissions will be over 2kgCO2e/kgH2.

On the other hand, producing hydrogen even via water electrolysis through the use of direct grid electricity (yellow hydrogen) in geographies with a high grid emissions factor like India (700 tCO2/MWh) will increase emissions from hydrogen production many times.

Green hydrogen

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has established a definition for green hydrogen which specifies that well-to-gate emissions (i.e., including water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification, drying and compression of hydrogen) must be limited to 2 kgCO2e/kgH2.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission envisages development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 million tonnes (mnt) per annum by 2030 for the abatement of 50 mnt of carbon emissions, with renewable energy capacity expected to touch 500 GW from around 190 GW today.

Several steps have been taken till date in terms of Production linked incentive (PLI) schemes to produce electrolysers (Make in India Initiative) and green hydrogen. In January 2024, a total of eight companies were awarded the contract for establishment of electrolyser manufacturing (totalling 1,500 MW) and 10 companies for production of green hydrogen (totalling 412,000 t).

Several schemes for Pilot projects under shipping, steel and mobility have been announced to encourage participation form industry.

The challenge

It takes roughly 50 MWh of electricity (in this case from renewable sources) to produce 1 tonne of hydrogen. "Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that 5 mnt of hydrogen will require 5,000,000 x 50 = 250,000,000 MWh, or 250 TWh of clean electricity. Of course, we need to take into account that electrolyser efficiency will increase by 2030. Nevertheless, approximately 250 TWh of clean electricity means 115 GW of wind + solar at a blended combined utilisation factor (CUF) of 25%," a green energy expert informed BigMint.

For perspective, India's renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) was assessed at over 140 GW on 31 March 2024. In 2023, as per Ministry of Coal data, solar + wind had a low share of just 12% in India's electricity mix, although installed capacity is around 31%.

In a country where direct electrification needs are huge, roughly 115 GW of clean electricity just for production of hydrogen or derivative green fuels is indeed a massive challenge.