Bio Hydrogen’s role in India’s green hydrogen pathway

Bio Hydrogen’s role in India’s green hydrogen pathway

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Msc

Context:

• Green hydrogen constitutes less than 1 percent of the world’s hydrogen production and usage, according to the September release of the Global Hydrogen Review 2023 by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Details:

• To align with the organization’s Net Zero Emissions (NZE) Scenario, green hydrogen capacity must grow more than 100 times by 2030.
• In 2022, hydrogen production and utilisation were associated with over 900 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, originating from fossil fuel sources without any carbon capture, utilisation or storage.

National Hydrogen Mission (NHM):

• The Indian Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) with a budget of ₹19,744 crore.
• The mission’s objective is to position India as a global centre for the production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen. It aspires to achieve a highly ambitious goal of developing a green hydrogen production capacity of five million tonnes per annum by 2030.

Hydrogen fuel:

• Hydrogen, existing as a diatomic molecule (H2), is odorless, tasteless and colourless under standard conditions of temperature (25°C) and pressure (1 atm).
• Hydrogen is not readily available in its pure form as it forms compounds with other elements like oxygen and carbon.
• Green hydrogen: Hydrogen meeting specific sustainability criteria is referred to as “green” hydrogen, yet a universally accepted definition is lacking, and there is no international standard for green hydrogen.
  • However, hydrogen fuel generated via renewable energy sources without any form of carbon emission is generally referred to as ‘green hydrogen’.
  • The Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy defines green hydrogen when the well-to-gate emission (encompassing water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification, drying and compression of hydrogen) not exceeding 2 kg CO2 equivalent per kg H2.
  • Gray hydrogen, on average, emits 10 kg of CO2 per kg of H2 produced.
• Extraction of pure hydrogen:
  • Conventional or fossil fuel based technologies include: hydrocarbon pyrolysis, steam methane reforming, auto-thermal methane reforming, dry methane reforming and partial oxidation. These hydrogen fuels are primarily utilized in refineries and fertilizer production.
  • Renewable technologies: solar, wind and biomass for hydrogen generation. In these technologies hydrogen can be produced either through electrolysis or biomass-based processes, involving thermochemical or biological methods.
• The study on green hydrogen conducted by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking in Europe identified approximately 10 options for generating hydrogen from renewable resources. Among these options, biogas utilization was the least expensive and most promising.
  • This is primarily because biogas, with methane as its main constituent, is the raw material for hydrogen production, thus the systemic steam reforming process does not require significant modifications.
• Advantages of Hydrogen fuel:
  • Hydrogen has superior calorific value (119.93 megajoules / kg) compared to gasoline (44.5 megajoules / kg).
  • Burning hydrogen results in fewer harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

Prospect for green hydrogen:

• Clear definitions are essential for hydrogen offtake mechanisms, procurement prices and the percentage blending in gas grids to enable the preparation of compressed biogas projects near refineries, fostering the adoption of appropriate infrastructure and product diversity to meet refinery demands.
• Prioritizing the establishment of worldwide hydrogen standards is important for creating high-quality fuel for export.
• Initially, the recently formed Global Biofuel Alliance, led by India, could be crucial in formulating global standards for hydrogen derived from biomass.

What is the Global Biofuel Alliance?

• Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) was recently launched by world leaders to expedite the global uptake of biofuels, under India’s G20 presidency. The alliance brings together major biofuel producers and consumers, such as the US, Brazil, and India.
• Nineteen countries and 12 international organizations have already agreed to join or support the GBA.
• The GBA aims to strengthen global biofuels trade for a greener sustainable future.

Source: DownToEarth