Indian Oil Inks Joint Ventures for Green Hydrogen & Electrolyser

The country's top refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Larsen & Toubro, and Goldman Sachs-backed renewable energy producer ReNew Power will form a joint venture to develop the green hydrogen sector, assisting India in reducing carbon emissions.

According to a joint statement issued on Monday, the three companies have signed a binding term sheet to jointly develop green hydrogen projects.

India, the world's third-largest carbon dioxide emitter, intends to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030 in order to meet climate targets while also becoming a production and export hub for fuel.

Previously, Indian companies, including the country's richest men Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, announced plans to produce green hydrogen. L&T, a state-run refiner, and IOC also signed a binding term sheet to form a joint venture to manufacture electrolyzers, which are used in the production of green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen has some of the best environmental credentials among cleaner-burning fuels, and it will replace carbon-emitting fuels used in refineries to transform crude oil into value-added products like petrol and diesel.

For the production of green hydrogen, an electrolyzer splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy such as solar or wind.

The partnership will initially focus on green hydrogen projects at IOC's Mathura and Panipat refineries in northern India, as well as evaluating other green hydrogen projects in the country, according to S.M. Vaidya, chairman of IOC.

India also intends to provide federal financial assistance for the installation of electrolyzers, with the goal of making the use of green hydrogen mandatory for refineries and fertilizer plants. According to the statement, India's refining sector consumes approximately 2 million tonnes of grey hydrogen produced through the use of gas rather than renewable energy.

"The joint venture between Indian Oil, L&T, and ReNew will focus on developing Green Hydrogen projects in a time-bound manner to supply Green Hydrogen on an industrial scale," said S N Subrahmanyan, CEO of L&T.