Kerala receives proposals worth Rs 30,000 cr for green hydrogen and green ammonia production

Two significant businesses have submitted plans to the Keralan government for the construction of green hydrogen and green ammonia manufacturing facilities for both internal and export use. One of the businesses has suggested using the Vizhinjam Adani port to ship 100,000 tonnes of green ammonia to Germany. It intends to put up an integrated renewable energy project to satisfy the green ammonia plant's round-the-clock (RTC) energy needs.

The integrated renewable energy project will involve a solar installation coupled with a pumped hydro storage facility located within the state. In Kerala, it will be a groundbreaking project with the flexibility to meet the needs of state power utilities during peak hours. According to state policy, the Kerala State Electricity Board would invest in the pumped-storage power facility that will supply RTC renewable energy.

A closed loop pumped hydro storage plant with a capacity of 1,500 MW/12,000 MWh will be connected with a solar power plant with a capacity of 1,200 MW to meet the energy needs of this green ammonia production complex, which will have an annual output of 2,000 000 tonnes. 22,061 crore rupees is the projected investment for this project.

The project sites' first identification and study have already been done. The other company has informed the state government of its interest in constructing a 252-MW electrolyser plant as well as a green hydrogen and ammonia producing facility. It has suggested using a capital investment of Rs 8,763 crore to build the facility in stages.

The green hydrogen, ammonia, or both will be sold to local residents, the government, refineries, and fertiliser manufacturers at market prices, or exported. The company has planned to build a 2-MW electrolyser and a 5-tonnes-per-day ammonia production plant in this initial phase for a fixed capital cost of Rs 800 million and a total projected cost of Rs 1,150 million, respectively. 288 kg per hour of ammonia and 36 kg per hour of green hydrogen will be produced once this phase is finished. A draught of the state government's green hydrogen policy was published earlier this year, and a Rs 200 crore programme to establish green hydrogen centres in Kochi and Trivandrum was also made public.