QAZAQ GREEN. India expects to deploy about 125GW of new renewables by 2030 to power the nation’s ambitious green hydrogen plans, the nation’s government said as it approved a landmark funding package for the sector, The Recharge News reports.

The government rubber stamped an initial 197.4bn rupees ($2.4bn) of funding for its National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to turn the country into a global centre for production, use and export of renewable H2 and its derivatives.

The vast majority of the funding approved by the cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be used to underpin financial incentives covering domestic production of electrolysers and production of green H2 itself.

By 2030 India’s green H2 production capacity is “likely to reach at least five million tonnes per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125GW”.

It was not immediately clear whether the new zero-carbon power capacity forms part of, or is in addition to, India’s existing goal to have 500GW of renewables in place by 2030. The nation as of September 2022 had 48.5GW of wind and 40GW of solar in place, according to figures from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which also includes almost 7GW of nuclear power in its “renewable energy” tally.

The green hydrogen mission will attract a total investment — including private funding — of eight trillion rupees ($96.6bn) by 2030, the government said.

“Regions capable of supporting large scale production and/or utilisation of hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.”

The policies will reduce the country’s carbon emissions by about 50 million tonnes and save one trillion rupees on fossil-fuel imports by 2030, it adds.

According to a government statement, an “enabling policy framework” will be developed, along with “a robust standards and regulations framework”, a public-private partnership framework for R&D, and a “coordinated skill development programme”.