Carbon intensive ‘green’ hydrogen will malign Indian credibility, undermine its market value, cautions study
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently notified emission thresholds for green hydrogen production, but the accounting and certification methods are yet to be finalised. The integrity of this methodology would be crucial to ensure that green hydrogen does not embody emissions from fossil fuel powered electricity India’s green hydrogen mission could end up boosting carbon emissions in the absence of the right safeguards and carbon accounting, warns think tank Climate Risk Horizons.
India’s green hydrogen mission is gaining momentum with the government recently unveiling a R&D Roadmap worth all of Rs 400 crore. India has a 2030 production target of five million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen per annum. New research suggests that the embodied carbon emissions from “green” hydrogen that is generated from grid-powered electrolysis could be much higher than the emissions from the traditional “grey” hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.
In a brief titled ‘Green Hydrogen: Promises & Pitfalls’, Climate Risk Horizons cautions that the so-called green hydrogen produced without stringent energy accounting standards would not be climate-friendly and could in fact be many times worse than traditional grey hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. The 2030 target of 5 MMT of green hydrogen would require about 250 TWh of electricity, which is approximately 13 per cent of India’s current electricity generation.
If even some of this electricity comes from the coal-powered grid, it will drive significant additional emissions into the atmosphere. Around 75 per cent of India’s electricity generation is coal-based. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently notified emission thresholds for green hydrogen production, but the accounting and certification methods are yet to be finalised. The integrity of this methodology would be crucial to ensure that green hydrogen does not embody emissions from fossil fuel powered electricity.