India can be global hub of green hydrogen, says PM Narendra Modi

India can become a global hub of green hydrogen as an ample availability of renewable energy gives the country an inherent advantage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. The prime minister also said the country’s clear vision is that sustainable growth is possible only with sustainable energy resources.

Addressing a post-Budget webinar on ‘Energy for Sustainable Growth’, Modi said, “Ample availability of renewable energy power gives India an inherent advantage, it can be a global hub of green hydrogen.” Noting that the hydrogen ecosystem is interconnected with fertilisers, refineries and the transport sector, he called for innovation by the private sector in the field.

“Hydrogen ecosystem is interconnected with fertilisers, refineries, and the transport sector. It is a field that the private sector must innovate in to fully utilise India’s potential. I promise the private sector that the government is with you in your efforts,” he said.

Maintaining that sustainable growth is only possible with sustainable energy, he said, “Energy and sustainable growth are inspired from the country's traditional practices and are a path for our future needs and aspirations.” 

Modi said he had encouraged sustainable lifestyle at the COP 26 summit in Glasgow last year along with the promise to become a net zero country by 2070.

“In Glasgow, we promised to become a net zero country by 2070. I also encouraged sustainable lifestyle — the LIFE Mission — Lifestyle for Environment. By 2030, we aim to achieve 500-gigawatt non-fossil energy capacity and achieve 50 per cent of our installed energy capacity by non-fossil sources," he said.

“India is providing leadership in global collaborations like the International Solar Alliance. India has set itself some targets and we look at them as opportunities. Whatever targets India has set for itself, I do not see them as a challenge but as an opportunity. India is moving with this vision in the last few years and the same has been taken forward at policy level in this year's budget,” he said.

The budget has announced ~19,500 crore for high-efficiency solar module manufacturing which will help in making India a global hub for manufacturing and R&D of solar modules and related products. The prime minister said that a lot needs to be done in making more energy efficient products, including household appliances.

“Energy saving and production are equally important for sustainability. We need to do a lot more to build more energy-efficient ACs, heaters, geysers, ovens and similar appliances here in India,” he said.

Batting for energy-efficient products, Modi gave the example of promotion of LED bulbs and said first the government brought down the cost of LED bulbs by promoting production and then 37 crore LED bulbs were distributed under the UJALA scheme. “LED bulbs used to cost ~300-~400. Our government increased its production, which reduced cost. We have distributed nearly 370 million LED bulbs under UJALA, saving a lot of electricity, money for the poor and carbon emissions,” he said.
 

He said this has led to saving of 48,000 million Kilowatt Hour electricity and saving of about ~20,000 crore in electricity bills of poor and middle class families.

“Annual carbon emission saw a decline of four crore tonnes. Local bodies are saving ~6,000 crore every year due to adoption of LED bulbs in street lights,” he added.

He said energy storage is a big challenge and the government has given a big priority to storage capacity as well. "In this year's budget, we have made provisions for battery swapping policy and interoperability standards.