Green Hydrogen: The Future of Clean Energy

The world continues to see an exponential rise in carbon emissions and climate disruption. To address these challenges, the search for clean and sustainable energy sources has become inevitable. In this quest, green hydrogen has emerged as a promising solution. This zero-emission fuel can be used across various sectors, including transportation, industry, and power generation. It has the potential to accelerate the electrification of currently difficult-to-decarbonize sectors, such as heavy industry and long-haul transportation. Furthermore, green hydrogen can be stored and transported easily, offering flexibility in energy distribution and aiding in integrating intermittent renewable energy sources into the grid.

As governments and industries worldwide recognize the need to transition to a carbon-neutral economy, the race for green hydrogen dominance is gaining momentum. With its clean and versatile nature, green hydrogen has the power to revolutionize the energy landscape and pave the way towards a greener and more sustainable future.

But the question is “What is Green Hydrogen?” Let’s dive deeper to understand what green hydrogen is and how it is produced.

What is green hydrogen and how is it produced?

Hydrogen that is produced using renewable energy to power the electrolysis process, is called the “Green Hydrogen”. It is considered a clean and sustainable form of energy, as it does not emit any greenhouse gases or pollutants during its production or use. As a cross-cutting energy vector, hydrogen can help decarbonize end-use sectors like heavy industry and integrate higher shares of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources (such as solar and wind) into the energy system. It can also be converted into derivatives, such as green ammonia or synthetic fuels, which can also contribute to mitigating GHG emissions.

 Green hydrogen production costs are predicted to decrease significantly in the next decade due to the falling costs of renewable power and improved learning curves in electrolyzers. The global capacity for electrolyzers is expected to reach 15 GW by 2026, driving down costs. Green hydrogen supply is expected to achieve cost parity with grey hydrogen in some regions by 2028, with costs as low as USD 1.5 per kilogram. The expansion of the carbon emissions market for industrial sectors and possible international price alignment under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement may bridge the cost gap between green hydrogen and its fossil fuel competitors. By 2050, hydrogen production capacity is expected to reach 5,000 GW, requiring a total renewable power production of 21,000 TWh. 

Green hydrogen projects across the world

Here are some of the largest green hydrogen projects around the world.

1. HyDeal Ambition: This project is spread across multiple sites in Western Europe, starting in Spain and southwest France, then extending to eastern France and Germany With a scale of up to 3.6 Mt of green hydrogen with 95 GW of solar and 67 GW of electrolyzer capacity, it has been ranked by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in a January 2022 report as the world’s largest green hydrogen project.
2. Reckaz: The Reckaz project in Kazakhstan is an endeavor to produce 2 million tonnes a year of green hydrogen using 45 GW of solar and wind installations by 2028. The project is run by HYRASIA ONE, a subsidiary of the European cleantech group SVEVIND Energy Group. HYRASIA ONE is creating a wind-solar-hydrogen plant in Central Asia that will produce up to 2 million tonnes of green hydrogen or 11 million tonnes of green ammonia per year.
3. Western Green Energy Hub: The Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH) is one of the largest green energy projects in the world. The shareholders are InterContinental Energy (46%), CWP Global (44%), and Mirning Green Energy Ltd (10%). To be built in phases, with a capacity of around 50GW upstream wind/solar which equates to 3.5 million tonnes per year (MTPA) of green hydrogen to be produced, for use in power generation, shipping fuel, minerals processing, and manufacturing.
4. Aman: This project is an ultra-large-scale green hydrogen project located in Mauritania on an 8500 km2 site. The project seeks to combine the tremendous solar and wind resources with green hydrogen production. The project has Up to 30GW of mixed-generation capacity. Exciting opportunities also exist in green iron production, which could be enabled by tapping into the huge reserves of iron ore available locally.
5. Green Energy Oman: Green fuels megaproject set to make Oman the world leader in green hydrogen and green ammonia. An international consortium comprised of OQ, which is the Sultanate of Oman's global integrated energy company, InterContinental Energy, the leading dedicated green fuels developer, and EnerTech, a Kuwait government-backed clean energy investor and developer, is collaborating on the project for more than three years, which will consist of 25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable solar and wind energy at full capacity to produce millions of tons of zero-carbon green hydrogen per annum. The hydrogen can be used locally, exported directly, or converted into green ammonia for international export.
6. Asian Renewable Energy Hub: The Asian Renewable Energy Hub proposes the construction and operation of a 26 gigawatt (GW) wind and solar hybrid renewable energy project, to be situated in the Pilbara region in north-west Western Australia. The proposal would aim to export ammonia overseas and includes up to three GW of generation capacity which will be dedicated to energy users in the Pilbara region and up to 23 GW of generation for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia for export.
7. NortH2: NortH2 is a consortium consisting of RWE, Equinor, Eneco, and Shell, while Gasunie and Groningen Seaports are important chain partners for the development of green hydrogen in the Northern Netherlands. The goal is to supply the industry with 2 to 4 GW of green hydrogen by around 2030. But the ambition goes further. NortH2 wants to grow to more than 10 GW around 2040, which is approximately 750,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.
8. AquaVentus: The initiative aims to use electricity from offshore wind farms to operate electrolyzers also installed at sea on an industrial scale. Plans envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts by 2035, enough to produce 1 million metric tons of green hydrogen.

Challenges and limitations of green hydrogen

Green hydrogen, while promising, faces several challenges and limitations:

• Cost and Economics: The primary challenge to green hydrogen adoption and use is its cost. The costs of renewable energies need to be viable themselves
• Energy Efficiency: The overall energy efficiency of the electrolysis process used to produce green hydrogen needs to be improved
• Storage: The storage of electricity generated is still too inefficient, and the storage of hydrogen is too volatile
• Infrastructure Limitations: Green hydrogen commercialization is also limited by existing infrastructure

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of green hydrogen make it a promising avenue for future energy production.

Indian Government Initiatives on Green Hydrogen:

The Indian government has launched several initiatives and made significant investments to promote the production and use of green hydrogen:

• National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM): The overarching objective of this mission is to make India a global hub for the production, usage, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives. This will contribute to India’s aim to become self-reliant through clean energy and serve as an inspiration for the global clean energy transition.
• Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT): This includes incentives for the manufacturing of electrolysers and the production of green hydrogen. The program has an outlay of ₹ 17,490 crore up to 2029-30.
• Pilot Projects: The government has allocated funds for pilot projects in areas like low carbon steel projects, mobility, shipping, decentralized energy applications, hydrogen production from biomass, and hydrogen storage technologies.
• Green Hydrogen Hubs: The mission will identify and develop regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or utilization of hydrogen as green hydrogen hubs.
• Enabling Policy Framework: Various policy provisions will be extended for green hydrogen projects, including waiver of interstate transmission charges for renewable energy used for green hydrogen production.
• Budget 2024: To stimulate innovation and private sector investment, the government may extend tax credits and incentives for research and development in the green hydrogen sector.

These initiatives are expected to lead to significant decarbonization of the economy, reduced dependence on fossil fuel imports, and enable India to assume technology and market leadership in green hydrogen

Global Government initiatives and investments in green hydrogen

• China: China consumes and produces more hydrogen than any other country. It issued its first hydrogen roadmap in 2016, leading to it having the world’s third-largest fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) fleet. More than 30 projects involving “green” hydrogen have been set up since 2019.
• European Union (EU): The EU issued its national hydrogen strategy in 2020, recognizing hydrogen as a key technology for achieving policy goals such as the European Green Deal. The bloc’s strategy is heavily focused on emissions-free green hydrogen, with a target to install 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyzer capacity by 2030.
• Global Programme on Green Hydrogen in Industry: In 2021, with the support of the governments of Austria, China, Germany, and Italy, UNIDO launched the “Global Programme for Hydrogen in Industry”. This Programme aims to assist developing countries in overcoming identified barriers and encourage a just hydrogen transition that puts social and environmental aspects in focus.
• Investment Pipeline: More than 30 countries have concrete hydrogen strategies and have allocated $76 billion of government funding. Europe remains the center of hydrogen development, accounting for more than 50% of announced projects and estimated investments of $130 billion.

These initiatives highlight the global commitment to green hydrogen as a key component of a sustainable, low-carbon future.

Comparison of different Hydrogen Types

Green hydrogen, produced through water electrolysis using renewable energy, is a promising solution for the clean energy sector, offering a clean, versatile, and efficient energy carrier suitable for transportation, power generation, and industrial processes. However, it faces challenges such as high production costs, energy efficiency concerns, storage issues, and infrastructure development. Despite these obstacles, advancements in technology, government policies, and increasing investments are driving the growth of the green hydrogen sector. Green hydrogen represents a transformative opportunity in the clean energy sector, as it is not just an alternative fuel but a potential game-changer in achieving a sustainable and carbon-neutral future. As we continue to innovate and invest in green hydrogen technologies, we will move closer to realizing its full potential in shaping a sustainable energy landscape.