Grey Hydrogen

Subject – Environment

Context – IOC plans to use grey hydrogen to make aviation fuel

Concept –

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will put up a ‘demo plant’ within the next two years to convert ethanol into a biogas that would be used to run aircraft.
The ‘alcohol-to-jet’ fuel (ATJ) plant will also use up its refiner’s grey hydrogen to produce the ethanol.
There would be a lot of demand for biogas for aviation when the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) emission norms kick in in 2027.
Also, there is going to be a huge increase in the demand for ethanol when the government of India’s mandate for mixing 20 per cent ethanol with petrol kicks in in 2025.
Meanwhile, IOC plans to do a ‘no harm test’ on a pipeline to see which steel metallurgy can withstand some amount of hydrogen without suffering embrittlement.

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation

The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a carbon offset and carbon reduction scheme to lower CO2 emissions for international flights, to curb the aviation impact on climate change.
Developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and adopted in October 2016.
Its goal is to have a carbon neutral growth from 2020.
CORSIA uses Market-based environmental policy instruments to offset CO2 emissions: aircraft operators have to purchase carbon credits from the carbon market.
Starting in 2021, the scheme is voluntary for all countries until 2027.