Reliance, Adani To ACME: CLSA Tracks Where They Stand In Green Hydrogen Race

As India announced the quantum of incentives more than a year after approving the Green Hydrogen Mission, CLSA says it's time to take measures to generate demand for the cleaner fuel.

"We now look forward to steps for demand creation with mandates and viability gap funding for early adopters," CLSA said in a note dated Jan. 5. "Overall, green hydrogen opens up an alternative front for renewables to seek better profitability versus supply in the competitive power market, apart from helping India on its net-zero pathway," it said.

The government on Jan. 4 announced Rs 19,744 crore worth of incentives under the mission. This includes Rs 17,490 crore for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition programme, Rs 1,466 crore on pilot projects, Rs 400 crore on research, and Rs 388 crore on other parts of the mission.

The government will use the mission to target domestic electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen or GH2 production.

Companies with green hydrogen exposure include NTPC Ltd., PowerGrid India Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Larsen & Tourbro Ltd., MTAR Technologies Ltd., Greenko Group Pvt., ACME Solar Holding Pvt., Linde India Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and GAIL Ltd.

They are gearing up for GH2 pilots. CLSA offers insights into the plans of these companies:

NTPC's research is focused on carbon capture and green hydrogen technologies to lead the new energy value chain, according to CLSA.

"NTPC could become one of the largest exporters of green hydrogen and green ammonia/methanol due to its strategic location," it added.

NTPC is also planning to build India’s biggest 5MW electrolyser in Madhya Pradesh as a part of its circular economy initiative to capture carbon and convert it to green methanol. "This facility would be converted from grey to green hydrogen with power supply from its 5MW small hydro and 500kW rooftop solar," it said.

NTPC is also in charge of setting up India's first green hydrogen mobility project in Ladakh, and it has already started blending green hydrogen into the natural gas network of the NTPC Kawas township in Surat. 

As part of its goal to become carbon neutral by 2035, Reliance Industries has big plans for renewable energy, including spending $10 billion (Rs 81,000 crore) over the next three years.

Part of this plan is to manufacture a low-cost and efficient modular electrolyser that will be used for the captive production of green hydrogen for domestic use and global sale. This factory will be set up as part of an $8 billion initiative to build four giga factories in new energy materials.

Adani Enterprises, through its subsidiary Adani New Energy Ltd. plans to invest $50 billion, or Rs 4.15 lakh crore, by 2030 into the green hydrogen ecosystem.

Like Reliance, Adani Enterprises will set up integrated renewable energy and H2 electrolyser projects. The ports-to-mining conglomerate is planning an integrated project connecting Khavda to Mundra with a hydrogen pipeline for the manufacturing of downstream products.

CLSA said Khavda is the ideal hydrogen generation hub due to its immense renewable energy potential and site readiness, while Mundra Special Economic Zone is an ideal green hydrogen and manufacturing ecosystem due to a fully developed site and utility infrastructure.

L&T, another big infrastructure company, wants to get into the whole value chain of green hydrogen, starting with the production of electrolysers at its Hazira complex.

It has also said that it will work with ReNew Power on green hydrogen projects, giving it a presence across the green hydrogen value chain.

Separately, it also entered a joint venture with Indian Oil Corp. and ReNew Power to develop, execute and own green hydrogen assets in India.

ACME Solar Holdings Pvt. is a pioneer in the renewable energy market in India with proven expertise in green hydrogen and ammonia, according to CLSA.

The company was one of the first movers, having set up India’s first integrated green ammonia generation facility in 2021 at Bikaner, Rajasthan. It has facilities under construction in Oman, Tamil Nadu, and Egypt and facilities undergoing feasibility determination in the U.S., Odisha, and Karnataka.

Indian Oil Corp., in July 2021, announced plans to set up India's first green hydrogen plant in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

"Indian Oil plans to use green hydrogen to replace carbon-emitting fuels used in refining to process crude oil into value-added products such as petrol and diesel," CLSA said.

In October 2021, state-owned GAIL India Ltd.'s Chairman and Managing Director, Manoj Jain, said that the company will build India's largest green hydrogen-making plant within 12–14 months.

It is now looking to build a 10MW electrolyser capable of producing 4.5 ton of green hydrogen per day, according to CLSA.

Freshly-listed MTAR Technologies Ltd. is developing and manufacturing hydrogen boxes and electrolysers, to serve Bloom Energy, a U.S.-based company that is one of the largest players in the hydrogen fuel cell market.

Linde, which is the parent company of Linde India Ltd., also received an order from Praxair to build a hydrogen plant in the U.S., which is expected to trickle down to the Indian subsidiary.

Disclaimer: Adani Enterprises is in the process of acquiring a 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd., the owner of BQ Prime.