Hydrogen’s Role in India’s Decarbonization and Energy Transition

Subramanian Chidambaran, Chief Strategy Officer, Cummins India in a recent interaction with Industry Outlook magazine, shared his views on how hydrogen is impacting emissions reduction in heavy industries and transportation, what trends in the hydrogen storage and distribution landscape are gaining momentum, how they align with India's energy transition goals and more.

Subramanian leads the strategy function for Cummins India since March 2021 and is a director of global corporate strategy since August 2024. In these roles, he is responsible for identifying and driving strategic opportunities that help achieve the vision for Cummins in India. He steers the company’s future roadmap, with a focus on Cummins’ ‘Destination Zero’ strategy for zero carbon emissions.. In addition, he is responsible for developing talent for Cummins’ global organization.

Hydrogen storage and distribution are critical to scaling its use in India. What trends in these areas are gaining momentum and how do they align with India's energy transition goals?

With economic growth as one of the top priorities, India is at a critical stage of growth after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the proportion of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix is low and this includes hydro, solar, wind as well as zero-carbon fuels such as hydrogen & batteries. The energy transition goal of the country aims to integrate renewable energy and decrease the dependence on imported energy which includes oil and coal that strain finances. Solar energy in India is pivotal especially as one of the resources for hydrogen as well as battery storage systems.

Furthermore, hydrogen plays a crucial role in storing solar energy via water electrolysis and the hydrogen production plants are located near solar parks, leveraging the available solar energy and through water resources. However, transporting hydrogen to consumption points from the production plants poses challenges. Currently, hydrogen is transported in cylinders however, the future opinion include pipelines. Again, transporting hydrogen through pipelines faces challenges which include corrosion, brittleness as well as safety concerns. Organizations such as GAIL and IOCL are exploring new solutions such as mixing natural gas with hydrogen. Also, the storage solutions vary. Gaseous hydrogen is stored in high-tech cylinders while other methods such as liquid hydrogen or solid forms using adsorbents are under research. Another opinion involves converting hydrogen to ammonia which is a proven method for easier transport and storage, with hydrogen later recovered from ammonia for use.

Efforts continue to optimize storage, distribution of hydrogen and cost-effectiveness as the country balances its energy transition with economic growth.

With India’s focus on decarbonization and initiatives like ‘Destination Zero,’ hydrogen is increasingly seen as a key player. How do you see hydrogen impacting emissions reduction in heavy industries and transportation?

There are several sectors where decarbonization is more difficult, known as hard-to-abate sectors while there are sectors where decarbonization is easier. Industries such as steel, manufacturing industries, and petrochemical industries, are spaces where decarbonization becomes much more difficult to implement, the hard-to-abate sectors, and which is where a green fuel such as hydrogen becomes all the more relevant. The transportation sector has emission regulations. Therefore, when you use traditional or fossil fuels that are being used today, there are a lot of these emission regulations that are coming up.

Thus, from this perspective, we are already going up the decarbonization curve, aiming to reduce carbon and GHG emissions. The next stage is to move into zero-carbon fuels. While some amount of carbon emissions will inevitably occur, their extent can be heavily reduced through the regulations. However, after a point, it becomes infeasible.This is where zero-carbon fuels, particularly hydrogen and batteries play a significant role .These are the two major technologies which are touted as the future of the transportation sector. Additionally, two-wheelers and three-wheelers have moved heavily into the electric vehicle and battery segment. Passenger vehicles are also increasingly transitioning into the battery space.

We also have electric cars. When you take the medium and heavy commercial vehicles, that's a space where the hydrogen and battery technologies are being currently tested to see their feasibility and potential for adoption. Thus, for hydrogen, you have options such as hydrogen engines, hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICE), andfuel cells.  The primary challenge lies in shifting from grey to green hydrogen, which becomes much easier for these sectors to adopt.

The hydrogen economy faces challenges such as high production costs and infrastructure gaps in India. What solutions do you believe will address these obstacles and accelerate hydrogen adoption?

India's transition to green hydrogen hinges on addressing multiple aspects. Adoption of green hydrogen is hindered by a circular dependency: producers need demand to justify investments and consumers need affordable costs driven by economies of scale. The government has introduced mandates for industries to use green hydrogen, which is a positive step. However, these mandates should be adaptive, linking adoption targets to price ranges to avoid overburdening consumers. Additionally, public perception of hydrogen's safety needs to be addressed through awareness, training, and standardized protocols to build confidence in its use.

Power costs account for over 70% of green hydrogen production expenses. Addressing inefficiencies in power generation, transmission and distribution is essential for lowering costs. Water availability and pre-treatment for electrolysis also significantly contribute to expenses and need focused solutions. Furthermore, India relies on imported electrolyzer technology and supply chains, adding to the production costs. While initiatives like Production Linked Incentives (PLI) support domestic manufacturing, greater indigenization of core components and materials is critical to reducing dependency and costs.

Green hydrogen adoption requires robust storage, distribution and refueling infrastructure. What we learnt from natural gas adoption underscores the importance of ensuring fuel availability along transportation routes to support logistics and build user confidence. Also, India must balance global collaboration and local innovation by incentivizing foreign players to set up R&D and manufacturing hubs while fostering indigenous technologies developed by startups, academia and research institutions. A supportive ecosystem is crucial for scaling and commercializing innovations.

A skilled manpower is vital for successful hydrogen adoption. Comprehensive training programs are needed to equip the workforce with expertise in hydrogen production, handling and safety protocols. By addressing demand, reducing costs, building infrastructure, fostering innovation and developing a skilled workforce, India can accelerate green hydrogen adoption and position itself as a global leader in hydrogen technology.