The management of JSW Energy, one of India’s largest power generators, will approach the company’s board for securing the go-ahead for setting up its first green hydrogen plant after the conclusion of a techno-feasibility study is initiated.
Speaking to The Hindu BusinessLine, Prashant Jain, Joint Managing Director and CEO, JSW Energy, said, “We will be approaching the board for getting the approval for start of construction of one of the first green hydrogen projects. We are working on it and things are progressing very well.”
JSW Energy said it is in the final stages of discussions on this project, which is moving faster than expected.
“We are doing the techno-economic feasibility study. We are in the final stage of discussion on this, including techno commercial discussion with various technology providers. It is moving faster than expected and results are fairly encouraging,” Jain said during a post earning conference call.
Ties up with Australian firm
In July last year, JSW Future Energy entered into a framework agreement with Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries for potential projects of production of green hydrogen.
“We will be coming out with the fastest-ever project built for green hydrogen, green ammonia and some other chemical derivatives,” Jain added.
JSW Energy’s output is heavily skewed towards thermal sources with Vijayanagar, Ratnagiri and Barmer plants. The company also has hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh which was bought from Jaiprakash Power Ventures. The company is working on its first pumped storage hydropower (PSH) plant, which is coming up in Maharashtra, along with similar projects in six other states.
Diversification
The diversification towards producing green hydrogen by companies like JSW Energy, GAIL, L&T, IOCL and Reliance Industries follows a clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech last year. India announced the National Hydrogen Mission’s setting up in the 2021-22 Union Budget to push for a greener planet.
“We believe that most of the building blocks are well placed to not to wait for govt policy intervention and therefore we will be in a position to start constructing the project much earlier than others and at the lowest possible cost and lowest possible tariff,” Jain added.
According to Jain, for producing a 10,000 tonne of hydrogen, about 100MW capacity of electrolyser is needed. For this, close to 300-350MW of renewable energy capacity is required and setting up various storage application to make power round the clock.
“In order to have a 200,000-tonne ammonia plant you will be looking for 35,000-tonne of green hydrogen to consume that,” Jain added.