Hydrogen energy: transition from research to economy and its applications in Indian core sectors

Abstract

Over the advent of the past 5 years, there have been multitude of technologies developments that are fostering the path to enable the hydrogen penetration of hydrogen. Some of these factors include: • Strong growth in hydrogen demand in various end-use sectors. • Innovation in the supply-side production technologies, notably electrolysers and falling costs of renewable energy equipment. • Expansion of energy systems with a higher use of renewable energy sources, creating "technical problems" (high variations in power production) that contribute to solving the hydrogen problem (especially the overproduction of renewable energy, the need for long-term storage of electricity). • Growing policy interest in driving deep decarbonization of energy systems, which will require chemical energy carriers like hydrogen, and in capturing the industrial benefits of hydrogen. It is important for India to take advantage of this new vicious circle, as hydrogen can be an important tool for India’s low-emission, lucrative and low-income energy sector.