fossil fuel at the moment.
Accordingly, New Delhi has called on state-run oil and gas companies to present a detailed plan on hydrogen production, including the locations of the facilities, their proposed capacity and anticipated consumption pattern, among other things, The Economic Times reported. Citing people who did not wish to be identified, the newspaper revealed that the government has set the deadline for the end of this month for the Indian Oil Corporation, HPCL, BPCL and GAIL to submit these details.
GAIL is the largest corporation responsible for natural gas processing and distribution, and according to ET, the company is considering if it would produce green hydrogen in-house or to outsource it. According to experts in Europe, a 10 per cent blend of hydrogen can be handled by the continent’s current network of natural gas pipelines, while they would have to be upgraded as the blend ratio rises.
Moreover, there is a growing need for safe and cost-effective transportation of green hydrogen, which is extremely reactive. It has a very low energy density and its flames are not visible in daylight. Therefore, without adequate transport facilities, refineries in India may have to cut back on their fossil fuel-based hydrogen capacity in order to accommodate green hydrogen.
The federal government is also considering the possibility of imposing green hydrogen purchase obligations on several industries, particularly in the industrial sector, such as gas, steel and power. However, since not every refinery has adequate land to establish green hydrogen plants, state-run refiners hope policy makers would set an overall target for companies, instead of imposing site-specific purchase obligations.
