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Several Indian companies have embraced hydrogen as fuel and have also announced plans to transition towards the carbon-free fuel. Firms such as Reliance, Adani Group, Indian Oil and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) are leading India's mission to adopt green hydrogen which is the cleanest form of energy.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries recently announced its hydrogen plans to become a net carbon-zero firm by 2035. The company aims to replace transportation fuels with clean electricity and hydrogen. "Reliance also has proprietary technology to convert transportation fuels to valuable petrochemical and material building blocks. We are committed to embracing new technologies to convert our CO into useful products and chemicals," Ambani told shareholders on June 24.
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In March this year, the Adani Group had announced a partnership with Maire Tecnimont to develop green hydrogen projects in the country. Indian Oil announced its plans to build a green hydrogen plant at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh. "IndianOil has a wind power project in Rajasthan. We intend to wheel that power to our Mathura refinery to produce absolutely green hydrogen through electrolysis," the company's Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya had announced.
NTPC had also announced its plans to set up India's first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh, Ladakh. It is looking to set up a pilot project for blending hydrogen with national gas for use in city gas distribution.
On the occasion of 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally announced the launch of National Hydrogen Mission to push plans to generate carbon-free fuel from renewables. He aims to make India a global hub for production as well as export of green hydrogen. At the recently held HT Auto EV Conclave, Transport minister Nitin Gadkari also backed the country's push towards green hydrogen as an auto fuel.
Green hydrogen is derived from water electrolysis using renewable energy such as solar or wind and can replace carbon-emitting fuels such as petrol and diesel. Currently, all hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels. However, by 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green, produced by renewable electricity and electrolysis.
(with inputs from PTI)