India is looking to kickstart the hydrogen ecosystem development, says Union Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressing the Hydrogen Round Table on “Hydrogen Economy: New Delhi Dialogue – 2021”.

India has taken various initiatives with respect to the greater use of hydrogen in India’s energy mix. The Government of India recently announced the National Hydrogen Mission in the Union Budget 2021 for making a hydrogen roadmap for the country.

“We are working on a pilot project on Blue Hydrogen, Hydrogen CNG (H-CNG) and Green Hydrogen. Through technological advancements, we are blending hydrogen with compressed natural gas for use as transportation fuel as well as an industrial input to refineries. 50 buses in Delhi are plying on blended hydrogen in Compressed Natural Gas on a pilot basis. We plan to scale it up in the coming months across the major cities of India,” added Pradhan.

The minister said that energy is integral to support our fast-growing economy and we are developing an energy sector which will be growth-centric, industry-friendly and environment-conscious.

Pradhan said that hydrogen has great potential to emerge as a future source of energy. “The enthusiasm about hydrogen has a simple reason: whether it’s used in a fuel cell or burned to create heat, wherever hydrogen replaces fossil fuels, it slows global warming. Inclusion of “Hydrogen” as an energy carrier in the future energy portfolio presents a unique opportunity to address emerging energy vectors, including power to gas, power to power, and power to mobility and even vehicle to grid applications.”

"Diversification of the energy basket would be the key lever enabling this transition. However, it is equally important that the new energy-mix options synergize and co-exist with the established base technology already operational in the respective countries, in which, huge capital investments have been made. That’s why the emergence of hydrogen at the centre stage is a welcome development,” added Pradhan.

Pradhan said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is committed to augment the hydrogen supply chain infrastructure in the country.

Pradhan said, "By establishing synergies with natural gas, hydrogen can be easily adopted in the energy mix without seeking major infrastructural overhauling. We are looking forward to introducing H-CNG as an intermittent technology in a big way for both automotive and domestic cooking applications.”

The inaugural session was attended by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE; Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Australia; Dan Jorgensen, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Denmark; and David M. Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy, United States.