India is one of the lowest carbon emitters in the world, our per capita emissions are about one third of global average, Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R. K. Singh said while addressing 3-day International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2023) yesterday in New Delhi.

Singh informed that India has over-delivered on its Nationally Determined Contributions target, having achieved 40% of non-fossil electricity target in 2021, 9 years before the target of 2030. “We have some world-leading programmes in emissions reduction, such as the programme for LEDs, which has resulted in reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 103 million tons per annum. Our Perform Achieve Trade Scheme has reduced in emissions reductions of around 106 million tons per annum.”

The Minister informed that 42% of power generation capacity of India today is based on non-fossil-fuels and that we will overachieve the target of 50% capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.

Singh said that India has begun to emerge as a leader in adopting green hydrogen as well. He said that under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, projects have been commenced for setting up 3.5 million tons of green hydrogen manufacturing capacity already.

“We are able to do this because we have built up a huge robust ecosystem for renewables, we have now industries which are world leaders in solar and wind energy ecosystems. We have almost 25,000 MW of solar manufacturing capacity and another 40 GW – 50 GW under construction. We are going to emerge as the largest manufacturer of solar cells and modules outside of China.”

The Minister said that India’s cost of green hydrogen will be the lowest in the world, since the cost of setting up renewable energy capacity in India is the lowest in the world. We have connected the whole country under one grid, said the Minister.

If you are in the business of electricity and energy, this is the place to be

Recalling an industry report which called India as the most attractive destination in the world for renewable energy investment, the Minister said that every major fund is invested in India. “This is also because India is the fastest growing large economy in the world, which also means a growth in energy demand. So, we are the biggest growing market, and if you are in the business of energy, this is the place to be.”

Singh said that the government has launched an incentive scheme for electrolyser manufacturing and for production of green hydrogen. Noting that we are just at the cusp of the growth, the Minister said that India has a huge steel manufacturing capacity, a big mobility market, and in fertilizers and cement, thereby providing big opportunities for green steel, green mobility, green fertilizers and green cement.

Come and partner with us

The New & Renewable Energy Minister told the industry that the government will partner with the industry in developing cutting-edge technology for fuel cells, hydrogen storage and other technologies needed for green hydrogen ecosystem. “The R&D roadmap will have cross-cutting partnerships among government, industry and IITs, so that patents too are owned by all of us in common. So, come and partner with us, this is the biggest market in the world, and we prefer solutions developed here in India.”