Kerala’s Kochi green hydrogen valley project is estimated to be set up with total capex investments of INR 18,542 crore, out of which INR 4,166 crore will be spent on electrolyser and ammonia plants, and INR 12,687 crore on renewable energy.
About INR 669 crore will be required for pilots and an additional INR 5,130 crore in the scale-up phase, excluding investments in RE, according to the Kochi Green Hydrogen Valley Roadmap.
The project is estimated to require INR 731 crore funding from the government – INR 45 crore to support techno-commercial assessments, INR 351 crore for transmission infrastructure, INR 264 crore for pipeline and refueling infrastructure, and INR 70 crore for offtake infrastructure.
The document noted that the total green hydrogen subsidy needed to bridge the viability gap ranges as INR 1,055 and INR 2,908 crores in phase-II and phase-III, respectively.
The investments required in hydrogen production, infrastructure development for hydrogen and ammonia, and transmission grid is pegged at INR 56 crore, INR 669 crore and INR 5,130 crore in the three phases additionally.
Capex required for the development of renewable energy for the project is INR 903 crore in phase-I and INR 836 crore in Phase-II – for these two phases RE can be developed in Kerala or imported from India RE sites – and INR 10,948 crore for phase-III additions with India RE resources.
Phase-1 from 2024-25 includes the preparation of green hydrogen clusters, phase-2 from 2026-2030 involves the deployment of technologies for green hydrogen, and phase-3 from 2030-2040 includes the upscaling of the use of green hydrogen in industry.
“Phase-I includes the development of RE for industry electrification. Phase-II investments are focussed on the RE development in the state and deployment of electrolysers, and phase-III includes electrolyser scaling, ammonia plant, and hydrogen and ammonia infrastructure,” the document noted.
Around 3,600 jobs can be created in the green hydrogen valley cumulatively with an abatement of 0.49 Mt CO2e.
It further said that ANERT will be the nodal agency for hydrogen valley in Kerala and will have defined roles in all three phases from stakeholder engagement to being the implementation agency for the valley. ANERT will also establish Kerala Hydrogen Council and a subsidiary company – Kerala Green Hydrogen Hub
Kochi green hydrogen valley is based on the end-use of green ammonia with demand of 40 ktpa green hydrogen and 260 ktpa green ammonia in base and 71 ktpa green hydrogen and 625 ktpa green ammonia in aggressive case 2040.
The valley would generate 3,600 jobs and abate 0.49 million tonnes of CO2e from Kerala, reducing the total emissions by about 2 per cent.
Green hydrogen demand is seen in 10-12 sectors of which all are present in Kerala. This brings the total potential of green hydrogen to 120 ktpa and an additional demand of 40-100 ktpa through exports
Within this potential demand, over 100 ktpa demand is concentrated within Kochi consisting of refineries, fertilizers, chemicals, transport hubs etc.
For the Kochi Valley, India’s best RE resources, centralised hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure and green hydrogen/ammonia transportation through pipelines are estimated with offtakers including BPCL, FACT, HOCL, KSRTC, KWML, KSINC, and exports, the document noted.
