The state government is planning to devise a strategic roadmap, policy formulations, and implementation plans to facilitate investments in the green hydrogen.
The Kerala government on Wednesday constituted a Kerala Hydrogen Economy Mission with a high-level working group to contribute strategic inputs, facilitate partnerships, collaborations, and assistance to the Mission.
The state government is planning to devise a strategic roadmap, policy formulations, and implementation plans to facilitate investments in the green hydrogen domain and transform the state to a green hydrogen hub. Kerala has 8,600 MW of renewable energy potential of which only about 10 per cent is utilised.
“Kerala is emerging as the first hydrogen economy in the world. Kerala is the place where oceans meet and it would be at the centre of world trade in 21st century, with green hydrogen export from Adani trans-shipment port at Vizhinjam,” K R Jyothilal, principal secretary – power and general administration, Government of Kerala, told ETEnergyworld.
The working group is headed by the Executive Vice-Chairperson of K-DISC as Chairman, while its members include the heads of various departments including Power, Industries, Water Resources and Transport, apart from the Chairman and Managing Director of Kerala State Electricity Board, the CEO of the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology, the Director of the Energy Management Centre, MD – Cochin International Airport, MD – Travancore Cochin Chemicals, and the representatives from central PSUs and the industry, and Indian Hydrogen Alliance.
Companies interested in the state’s green hydrogen sector include Petronet LNG, NTPC, L&T, Reliance Energy, Air Products, Indian Oil, GAIL, Cochin Shipyard, Cochin Port Trust, Tata, HPCL, BPCL, Hydrogen Pro, Greenstat, Adani Green Energy, The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd, World Wide Wind, Kawasaki, Innovation Norway, Air Products, and Linde.
Kerala is considered geographically favourable for green hydrogen production with high rainfall, solar insolation, wind potential and also presence of water bodies for floating solar and offshore power generation. The state government aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and expects green hydrogen to play a key role in it.
Earlier this month, the Uttar Pradesh government also issued a draft policy to promote and produce green hydrogen, and to also make the state a 100 per cent consumer of green hydrogen, green ammonia by 2035.
