New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), India’s largest fuel retailer, plans to green 50% of its refinery hydrogen by 2030, according to S S V Ramakumar, director – R&D.
“We have a firm plan that 50% of our total hydrogen, that is to be consumed by our refiners by 2030, should be converted from gray to green. It amounts to 700,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030, of which 350,000 mtpa will be converted to green in our refineries,” he said. He was speaking at a panel discussion at the ETEnergy Leadership Summit 2023 held from 19-20 June, 2023 here.
Ramakumar also said that the country’s first green hydrogen plant operating on a commercial scale will be at their Panipat refinery, which will have 7,000 mtpa capacity.
Speaking on biomass gasification, he said that 62 mmt of biomass is generated every year in India which is being neglected. “If this could be gasified and if the yields of green hydrogen can be increased by perfecting the gasification technology then biomass gasification into green hydrogen can probably be a very good option for India,” he said.
He added that currently for one kilogram (kg) of green hydrogen production, about 20 kg of de-ionised water is required. Hence, the need of the hour is whether we can use sea water. “Our R&D team is working on direct sea water electrolysis,” he added.
He said that policymakers should include hydrogen produced through this biomass pathway as green. “We can reason out with policymakers to include green hydrogen produced through biomass gasification as one of the green hydrogen forms so that it will be eligible for all the envisaged incentives. In the definition of green hydrogen by the ministry of new and renewable energy we could include biomass pathways as well,” Ramakumar added.
Currently conventional forms of biomass gasification yield 40 g of green hydrogen for 1 kg of feedstock. IOC, he said, is working with IISc Bengaluru to give 110 g of green Hydrogen per kg of feedstock.
“To get it considered as a method of green hydrogen production, the carbon dioxide that is being generated through this should be treated as biogenic carbon dioxide which has a negative carbon footprint. Hence, green hydrogen produced through this pathway is entirely green and negative carbon,” he added.
IOC is setting up a demonstration project at the company’s R&D Centre in Faridabad with this improved biomass gasification pathway and an efficient purification system is also in tow along with this technology, he said.
On hydrogen fuel cell buses, he said that IOC plans to run 15 hydrogen fuel cell buses in Delhi-NCR by October this year. “We got these buses through competitive bidding from Tata Motors and these will be running from Faridabad to Delhi-NCR region,” he said.
The company is also experimenting to reform compressed biogas into green hydrogen and has a demonstration unit coming up in Faridabad.
