The Centre plans to support pilot projects to explore the possibility of using green hydrogen in production of direct reduced iron.
In a recent written reply to the Lok Sabha, Union minister for steel, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh said that the domestic steel industry has been made a stakeholder in the National Hydrogen Energy Mission.
“It has been proposed to set up pilot plants with part funding from government to explore the feasibility of using green H2 in Direct Reduced Iron production, by partly replacing natural gas with H2 in gas based DRI plants. Based on the success of the pilot projects, the gas based DRI units
shall be encouraged for large scale adoption of the process," he said.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has proposed setting up the National Hydrogen Energy Mission, aimed at developing and scaling up green hydrogen production technology to make it affordable and widely accessible.
Green hydrogen is formed through electrolysis of water using electricity produced from renewable energy. Green hydrogen is not commercially viable at present.
“However, with declining costs of renewable power generation and electrolysers, production of green hydrogen is likely to become cost competitive in future," the minister said.
On 15 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the “National Hydrogen Mission" to make India a global hub for green hydrogen production and export, boosting self-reliance in energy.
In February 2022, the government unveiled the first part of the new green hydrogen policy, promising cheaper renewable power, fee waiver for inter-state power transmission for 25 years for projects commissioned before June 2025, land in renewable energy parks, and mega manufacturing zones to help local industries wean themselves off fossil fuels.
Magazine
.jpg "Achieving Operational Excellence: Best Practices for Lean Management")
