FROM GREY TO GREEN

WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS BECOMING MORE ACUTE, GREEN HYDROGEN COULD BE AN IMPORTANT SOLUTION

- ANUJESH DWIVEDI

NEARLY ONE-FIFTH OF global greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 originated from sectors like iron & steel, manufacturing, construction, etc. These sectoral greenhouse gas emissions pose a significant challenge due to technological and financial hurdles and are classified as “hard-to-abate” (HTA) sectors.

Current commercially available decarbonisation technologies (renewables, energy efficiency, electrification, etc.) can only achieve 50-60% reductions—closing the gap, therefore, necessitates developing newer solutions. Particularly for HTA sectors, hydrogen has been identified as a key solution. Many of these sectors require chemical feedstocks, or heavy-duty freight solutions, and face significant barriers to wards using low-carbon technologies like renewables. Clean hydrogen offers a versatile alternative, capable of direct use in fuel cells, and as feedstock for producing derivatives, making it crucial for addressing limitations of renewables and enabling deep decarbonisation. It is projected that beyond 2030, clean hydrogen demand from HTA sectors could exceed 150 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).