Green Hydrogen – the Fuel of the Future

Green Hydrogen – the Fuel of the Future

India has committed to decarbonize itself by 2070, along global efforts to curb carbon emissions that are known to accelerate global warming at COP26 international summit in 2021. Failure to meet these targets can endanger the very existence of billions of citizens, who would be the future generations of humanity. Following the global technological race to find alternatives to fossil fuels, the Government of India launched an ambitious initiative in January 2023 called the National Green Hydrogen Mission. But what is Green Hydrogen? And how does it matter? My City Links explores more about it in this article.

The Problem with Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels have been burning a hole in the pockets of the Indian government for years. A significant portion of India’s GDP is spent on oil imports. Fossil fuels account for around 80 % of our energy dependence. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, or ones that will deplete and come to an end with usage. When scarcity of these resources occur, its price shoots up, triggering inflation in global markets, as transport and energy controls most economic activities. 

On the environmental front, fossil fuels accelerate global warming. As per scientists, more than 2 Degree threshold rise in average global temperature can cause major consequences such as extreme weather events, rise of sea levels, mass migration, water scarcity, and food shortages. This is why relying heavily on fossil fuels is neither good for the environment nor for economics. 

Colour codes of Hydrogen 

To have decarbonization, knowing the exact carbon emissions from different activities is needed. If Hydrogen is to be used as a fuel, the different processes through which it is manufactured is accounted for, by a process called carbon footprint assessment. Based on this Hydrogen fuel is classified into a whole spectrum of colours – grey, green, yellow, blue, pink, turquoise, black, and blue. The difference lies in the various energy sources used in the manufacturing of Hydrogen. Classification makes it easier to know the process of making Hydrogen. While there is no global consensus on how the colour codes are assigned, as there can be local variations, Green Hydrogen is commonly accepted as the one which is manufactured by the usage of renewable energy sources with least carbon footprint. Green hydrogen uses a renewable energy source such as wind, solar, or tidal to generate electricity. This electricity is used to split water (H2O) via electrolysis into Hydrogen and Oxygen gases (H2 and O2). This process generally results in a low carbon fuel.
Other colours such as pink hydrogen denote hydrogen obtained from electrolysis through nuclear power, brown/black through coal, and blue from natural gas steam reforming. 

Hydrogen Fuel Technologies

The reason why green hydrogen is dubbed as the fuel of the future is because it involves zero emissions. Almost a quarter of air pollution occurs due to fossil fuel vehicles. Hydrogen powered vehicles promise a cleaner alternative in transportation, though they are very costly at the moment. 

Green Hydrogen technologies have undergone many changes in the past few decades. There are two types of technologies associated with Green Hydrogen – Electrolyzers and Hydrogen Fuel Cells. While Electrolyzers are those devices that help in the electrolysis of water to break it down into Hydrogen and Oxygen gases, on the reverse, Fuel cells use Hydrogen as a fuel to generate electricity.

There are three most widely used electrolyzers based on their constituents– Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Electrolyzers, Alkaline Electrolyzers and Solid Oxide Electrolyzers. The energy source for electrolysis has to be a renewable energy source such as solar panels, wind turbines or bio-energy. The hydrogen obtained after electrolysis needs safe storage and transportation to be used as a fuel for different purposes. Green Hydrogen can be used in fuel cells for many applications such as transportation and as a source of electricity. Hydrogen fuel cells enable utilising green hydrogen for energy needs, which operate through the simple chemical reaction of combination of hydrogen and oxygen to release water and electricity. Like Electrolyzers, Hydrogen fuel cells also come in various types. 

Supply Chain Challenges

While the technology to use hydrogen as a fuel was invented way back in 1842 by William Grove, its successful commercialization is still in its infancy. Nations around the world have made ambitious plans to step up the production of green hydrogen, to lay foundations of the supply chain mechanism needed for greater acceptance of the Hydrogen fuel. Vision documents are being produced by different governments around the world to achieve this feat. But there are certain challenges in achieving these targets.

The first challenge is in the production of Hydrogen fuel. The technologies for producing Hydrogen are evolving every year, with more durable materials used in both electrolyzers and fuel cells coming up that are cost effective and energy efficient. The second challenge is in the storage of Hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen being a highly combustible gas needs careful handling. So, its storage facility is also a matter of constant research. Next challenge lies in the transportation, in which Hydrogen fuel produced at a certain place is to be transported to another location where it is to be used. A final challenge is the price of hydrogen fuel. While the per km cost of Hydrogen fuel vehicles is lesser than petrol vehicles, the price of initial purchase of Hydrogen vehicles is way higher. India has set a target of reducing the price of Hydrogen fuel down to $ 1 per kg by 2030 from the current rate of $ 4.5 per kg. This goal is termed as the “1 1 1” goal or 1 dollar per kg per decade challenge for Hydrogen fuel.

Hydrogen Cars vs EVs

Zero emission vehicles come in two varieties – Electric Vehicles and Hydrogen powered vehicles. An Electric vehicle is mostly powered by a Lithium ion battery which requires recharging from time to time, while Hydrogen powered ones rely on hydrogen refuelling stations. A proper comparison between the two requires considering multiple factors that come up in understanding their technological features. 

Ease of use, being the first factor, stands in favour of Hydrogen cars as compared to Electric vehicles. Hydrogen cars can be refuelled at filling stations within a few minutes, while electric vehicles require 3-8 hours to charge fully. But the requirement for safe handling of Hydrogen fuel goes against it when compared with Electric vehicles. Hydrogen cars are also more expensive. On the maintenance front the Hydrogen cars are a clear winner. Need for disposal of batteries in regular intervals goes against electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are currently more popular and are seeing improved infrastructure, while Hydrogen fuel infrastructure would take more time to come up.  

Hydrogen-powered cars are at a disadvantage in case of efficiency due to the complex processes of converting hydrogen gas into electricity to operate the vehicle. In Fuel cell electric vehicles, the energy is converted from chemical energy to electrical energy, leading to greater inefficiency with hydrogen vehicles. In comparison, battery electric vehicles are more energy efficient, utilising around 80% of the total energy to power the vehicle. Battery-powered electric vehicles are the clear winners in terms of efficiency.

From a humanitarian point of view, battery electric vehicles have the tremendous disadvantage of abetting child labour and poverty. The reason behind this is that cobalt, which is a necessary element used in manufacturing EVs, are obtained after mining activities in Cobalt rich regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

There are no labour laws or safety protocols governing artisanal mines in the DRC, where 20-30 percent of the country’s cobalt is mined. These mines employ some 200,000 miners, according to Transport & Environment, a European clean transport campaign group. At least 40,000 of them are children, some as young as six years old, according to the Wilson Centre, a US non-partisan policy forum. As a result, these children work in hazardous conditions where due to lack of shovels, they have to dig with their bare hands, without safety gear like masks, gloves and work clothes for a meagre wage. As the demand for EVs increases globally, so does poverty and death in these mineral rich regions.

On the environmental factors, Hydrogen cars are more environment friendly than EVs as unlike batteries in EVs the Hydrogen fuel cells can be recycled. Unsafe disposal of batteries in case of EVs adds to environmental pollution. 

Some Sectoral Developments

Recent developments like the Tokyo Olympics 2020 have set a precedent for the world to follow, as it was an event that was majorly powered by hydrogen. Progress in the sector has gathered pace as countries like Japan and the US lead the way in adopting green hydrogen as a fuel by setting up the infrastructure necessary for its greater adoption. But things in India are still at a nascent stage. As per Rystad energy, a leading independent research and business intelligence company, India’s electrolyzer capacity is set to reach 8 GW per year by 2025. Rystad projects that India is slated to have six electrolyzer gigafactories by 2025.

In Odisha, the previous BJD government towards the end of its term, gave its green light to a number of green energy projects worth Rs. 557 billion. Among them is Waaree Clean Energy Solutions’ plans to set up an electrolyzer facility at Khordha at a cost of Rs. 4.35 billion. 

In August 2023, a land agreement was signed by the Acme Group with Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Limited for developing green hydrogen and green ammonia projects on 343 acres of land to be implemented at the Gopalpur Industrial Park in Ganjam district of Odisha. Similarly, last year the previous state government had granted approval to manufacturing units of Welspun New Energy Limited and Sembcorp Green Hydrogen India with production capacities of 0.70 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and 0.72 MMTPA with an investment worth Rs 138.6 billion and Rs 130 billion, respectively. These facilities would be located at Kendrapada and Ganjam districts. In February 2024, Odisha’s then CM Naveen Patnaik laid down the foundation stone of Avaada Group’s green hydrogen project at Gopalpur. Many more projects are in pipeline as green hydrogen is considered a sunrise industry in India with potential to revolutionise the energy sector. With the advantage of having sea ports, and 3000+ hours of sunlight annually (for solar power), Odisha has the potential to be an exporter of green hydrogen fuel for the global market in the future.