{"id":33529,"date":"2024-04-06T01:16:27","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T19:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=33529"},"modified":"2025-10-10T14:18:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T08:48:57","slug":"green-hydrogen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/green-hydrogen\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Green Hydrogen Push in the Transportation Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is Green Hydrogen?<\/li>\n<li>What is the Scheme for Use of Green Hydrogen in the Transport Sector?<\/li>\n<li>Advantages of Green Hydrogen in the Transportation Sector<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s Green Hydrogen Push in the Transportation Sector<\/li>\n<li>Significant Challenges to the Large-Scale Use of Green Hydrogen in the Transportation Sector<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced (in February, 2024) the \u2018Scheme Guidelines for implementation of Pilot Projects for use of Green Hydrogen in the Transport Sector\u2019.<\/li>\n<li>The Scheme, which falls under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, would be implemented with a total budgetary outlay of Rs. 496 Crores till the financial year 2025-26.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Green Hydrogen?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Hydrogen is colourless and <strong>green hydrogen is \u2018green\u2019 only by virtue of the way it is produced<\/strong>\/ the source of the energy used to manufacture it.<\/li>\n<li>Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen that is produced from the electrolysis of water (splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen) <strong>using an electrolyser powered by renewable energy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It is &#8216;end-to-end&#8217; green<\/strong> since it is powered by renewable energy, uses water as a feedstock, emits no carbon when consumed.<\/li>\n<li>This means, except for a difference in the production pathway and emissions, green hydrogen is essentially the same as grey or any other colour hydrogen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Scheme for Use of Green Hydrogen in the Transport Sector?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The major objectives of the MNRE scheme include &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Validation of technical feasibility<\/strong> and performance of green hydrogen as a transportation fuel,<\/li>\n<li><strong>Evaluation of the economic viability<\/strong> of green hydrogen-powered vehicles, and\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Demonstration of safe<\/strong> operation of hydrogen-powered vehicles and refuelling stations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Ministry of Road Transport &amp; Highways<\/strong> will appoint a scheme implementation agency that will invite proposals for pilot projects.<\/li>\n<li>The selected company or consortium will be the project\u2019s executing agency and <strong>will be required to complete the pilot project within two years.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Based on the recommendation of a <strong>Project Appraisal Committee<\/strong>, the MNRE will approve viability gap funding (<strong>VGF<\/strong>) for the project.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The VGF amount will be finalised<\/strong> after considering \u201cspecific needs, merits, and feasibility of each project\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Advantages of Green Hydrogen in the Transportation Sector:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE)<\/strong> vehicle utilises hydrogen through combustion &#8211; which is similar to cars running on diesel and petrol, except there are <strong>no carbon emissions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/hydrogen-fuel-cell\/\" target=\"_blank\">hydrogen fuel cell<\/a><strong> electric vehicle (FCEV)<\/strong> utilises hydrogen electrochemically by converting hydrogen stored in a high-pressure tank into electricity, <strong>leaving water as the byproduct<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Even though hydrogen ICE vehicles do not emit carbon, research suggests that <strong>burning hydrogen is far less energy efficient than converting it into electricity in a fuel cell<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs), in which the battery is the heaviest part, <strong>hydrogen FCEVs are typically much lighter because hydrogen is a light element<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>This makes hydrogen fuel cell technology <strong>a viable alternative to EV battery technology<\/strong>, especially for heavy-duty trucks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Given the need to cut carbon emissions in the transportation sector while ensuring there is no loss in revenue-generating payload capacity, <strong>green hydrogen holds promise<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>India\u2019s Green Hydrogen Push in the Transportation Sector:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Big Indian commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Volvo Eicher and Ashok Leyland are <strong>doubling down on efforts to develop hydrogen-powered trucks and buses.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Indian energy companies <\/strong>too are trying to scale up production of green hydrogen and bring down costs to make it affordable enough to compete with other fuels.<\/li>\n<li>As a large and growing market for both vehicles and energy, <strong>India stands to gain significantly from the large-scale adoption of green hydrogen as vehicular fuel<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>India sees advantages ranging &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li>From <strong>curbing pollution <\/strong>and meeting its climate goals to <strong>reducing costly fossil fuel imports,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>As well as a business opportunity to become <strong>a global hub for the production and export of green hydrogen.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Significant Challenges to the Large-Scale Use of Green Hydrogen in the Transportation Sector:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The prohibitive cost of production:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Green hydrogen-powered vehicles are not yet seen as a suitable alternative to four-wheel <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/battery-electric-vehicles-bevs-issues-in-bev-push\/\" target=\"_blank\">BEVs<\/a> due to<strong> challenges arising from fuel costs.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>For hydrogen FCEVs to compete with BEVs, green hydrogen needs to cost between $3 and $6.5 per kilogram by 2030.<\/li>\n<li>For perspective, retail green hydrogen prices in California touched <strong>$30 per kilogram in 2023.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>With more innovation in technology and scaling-up of production, costs are likely to come down in a few years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inadequate supporting infrastructure:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the California Transportation Commission, building a hydrogen truck <strong>fuelling station costs up to 72% more<\/strong> than the cost of building a battery electric truck fuelling station.<\/li>\n<li>Shell, a pioneer in hydrogen refuelling technology, last month announced it was shutting all its hydrogen refuelling stations for cars in California due to <strong>supply complications and other external market factors<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Challenges of storage and transportation at scale:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Hydrogen is stored at a much higher pressure, and CNG cylinders cannot carry hydrogen.<\/li>\n<li>For cylinders to carry a high mass of hydrogen, the carbon fibre needs to be stronger, which makes high-pressure hydrogen cylinders <strong>expensive<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This is a key barrier to the adoption of hydrogen as a transport fuel. For the same reason, the existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure is also not seen as viable.<\/li>\n<li>The MNRE plans to convene a meeting with stakeholders to discuss the development of <strong>specialised cylinders to store green hydrogen<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Challenges in handling hydrogen:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Hydrogen is extremely flammable,<\/strong> which means that special care would be needed in handling the fuel at retail stations compared to diesel, petrol, or even CNG.<\/li>\n<li>Robust and fool-proof handling and safety standards need to be developed before pushing large-scale adoption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Long-term viability of green hydrogen-powered vehicles:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The advancements in battery technologies continue to reduce the overall weight of EV batteries.<\/li>\n<li>Therefore, the long-term viability of green hydrogen-powered heavy duty commercial vehicles could also come under pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q.1. What is the National Green Hydrogen Mission?<\/h3>\n<p>The National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to accelerate the deployment of Green Hydrogen as a clean energy source, will support the development of supply chains that can efficiently transport and distribute hydrogen.<\/p>\n<h3>Q.2. What is the Green Hydrogen Standard for India?<\/h3>\n<p>The Green Hydrogen Standard for India (issued in 2013) have defined what encompasses \u2018green\u2019 in green hydrogen. These standards specify an emission threshold of 2 kg CO2 equivalent \/ kg H2 as a 12-month average.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/why-green-hydrogen-presents-both-major-opportunities-significant-challenges-9253910\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Why green hydrogen presents both major opportunities, significant challenges<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced the \u2018Scheme Guidelines for implementation of Pilot Projects for use of Green Hydrogen in the Transport Sector\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-33529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}