India Considers a National Hydrogen Proposal

Calcutta, India [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] India’s Minister for Non-Conventional Energy Sources Shri Vilas Muttemwar called upon all stakeholders to join hands with the Government to implement the National Hydrogen Energy Road Map, which is hoped to provide sustainable energy security to its citizens and place India in the forefront of a new global hydrogen energy economy.

The Road Map highlights hydrogen production based on steam methane reformation, coal gasification, nuclear energy, biomass, biological and renewable energy methods; it explores specifics of hydrogen energy including storage, transport, delivery, applications, safety, standards and codes, capacity building and awareness. Goals of efficiency in hydrogen storage, which includes gaseous, liquid and solid state, were identified by the Road Map as well as useful cycle life, compactness and cost to be achieved by 2020. Yet two major initiatives proposed include the Green initiative for Future Transport (GIFT) and the Green initiative for Power Generation (GIP). The GIFT aims to develop and demonstrate hydrogen-powered IC engine and fuel cell based vehicles ranging from small two- and three-wheeled cars and taxis, buses and vans through different phases of development. If implemented as proposed, one million hydrogen-fueled vehicles would be riding on Indian Roads by 2020. The GIP calls for developing and demonstrating hydrogen-powered IC engine/turbine and fuel cell based decentralized power generating systems, hoping to set up decentralized hydrogen based power generation of about 1000 MW aggregate capacity in the country by 2020. The Road Map, which projected estimated investments needed for R&D and infrastructure for hydrogen production, storage, transportation and distribution to meet requirements of hydrogen under the GIFT and GIP initiatives, recommended strong public and private partnership to implement these total hydrogen energy system proposals.