RK Singh to world: What if India puts retaliatory trade barriers on Green Hydrogen?

New Delhi: Taking a jibe at countries that have put up trade barriers on Green Hydrogen, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh said on Wednesday that if India decides to put up trade barriers, the world will lose access to the largest green energy market. Addressing stakeholders and delegates from across the world at the inaugural ceremony of the International Conference on Green Hydrogen-2023, RK Singh said, “If I start putting up barriers, you will not be able to enter the world’s largest green energy market. That is what I want to tell countries that are putting up barriers.”

Green Hydrogen: Trade barriers

Singh has on several occasions criticised the barriers being put up by the developed world and has called them out for talking of the benefits of a free market on the one hand and offering massive incentives or imposing conditions on the production of Green Hydrogen on the other hand. For example, the US House of Representatives approved in November 2021 a 10-year tax credit of upto USD 3/kg of clean hydrogen. The average cost of production of Green Hydrogen in the world is about USD 3-4/kg.

Similarly, Germany issued a tender for Green Hydrogen in December 2022, which has a condition that the distance between the hydrogen production facility and the renewable energy plant should be 500 km or less. Last week, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had said that India is holding dialogue with Germany over certain clauses in its green hydrogen purchase tender with the European Union to sort out these issues.

India will be world’s cheapest producer of Green Hydrogen: RK Singh

Singh said that despite a tough competition, India will be a global leader and will produce the world’s cheapest Green Hydrogen. “Our cost of setting up renewable energy capacity is the lowest in the world at USD 6000,000 per MW. So, our green hydrogen will be the cheapest in the world,” said Singh.

He also said that outside of China, India will be the world’s largest manufacturer of solar cells and modules. “Around 35,000-40,000 MW capacity is currently under construction for solar cells and modules, 25,000 MW out of which will be polysilicon. We will be the largest manufacturer of solar cells and modules in the world after China. And the same thing will happen with Green Hydrogen,” said the minister.

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