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New Delhi: The US – India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) held the first Industry interaction for the US – India Hydrogen Task Force (HTF) with the Task-force members, US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The session was led by HTF co-chairs, Dr Vandana Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), and Dr Ken Vincent, Director of Office of Asian Affairs, Office of International Affairs, US Department of Energy (DOE). Dr Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary US Department of Energy, delivered the keynote address, discussing India's role in bringing scale and innovation to green hydrogen technologies as part of the global clean energy transition. In addition, Dr Light highlighted the importance of cooperation between the U.S. and India in advancing the goal of developing a hydrogen economy in India.
"We have already begun to build up international infrastructure to deal with the global energy struggle. We intend to bring together governments and industries from various nations in major energy gatherings," Dr Light added.
The roundtable outlined high-level priorities for the US – India Hydrogen Task Force, which saw participation from both US and Indian companies seeking to promote the deployment of hydrogen technologies. During the session, the HTF Co-Chairs, Dr Kumar and Dr Vincent, touched upon MNRE's and DoE's priorities and HTF action items.
Dr Vincent stated to the task force, "The challenge before us is extraordinary because we are growing the supply side and the demand side of the hydrogen market at the same time. While governments have an important role, success will depend on private firms, who will be deploying capital and putting steel on the ground."
Dr Kumar, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and India Co-Chair of the Task Force discussed the drivers and barriers to developing a green hydrogen economy and how collaborative efforts can help mitigate some of them. "We are developing the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The global momentum has been brought on by not just energy transition movements but also with respect to securing energy independence. While green hydrogen offers numerous opportunities, there are some challenges that can be overcome through collaboration among countries- such as innovation and technology development to reduce costs, building sustainable demand, and harmonizing trade standards and regulations," said Dr Kumar.
The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) serves as the Secretariat for the Task Force. During the interaction. USISPF Managing Director Nivedita Mehra welcomed the task force Co-Chairs and the industry leaders and highlighted the importance of a strong U.S.-India partnership to develop India's green hydrogen economy.
"Given India's high dependence on imported fossil fuel and to achieve the mutual goals of energy security and low carbon transition, the potential of the US and India's cooperation on green hydrogen is significant. With this context, the Task Force aims to integrate private and public sector inputs towards energy security, promote the exchange of the latest technology and adopt business models towards development & deployment of hydrogen technologies under the US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership," said Nivedita Mehra.
The industry participants briefed the task force on their work in the hydrogen space. In addition, they shared their perspectives on the role of hydrogen in India's energy transition and the opportunities for collaboration under the task force.
The US-India Hydrogen Task Force is a high-level bi-lateral collaboration between the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), in coordination with the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) that brings together industry and academia, with the goal of integrating the private sector inputs to bring in the latest technology and adopt business models towards development and deployment of hydrogen technologies. The Hydrogen Task Force will be organized into a Steering Committee at the Government level, an Industry council, and working groups or subcommittees in identified priority areas. The focus will be on strengthening cooperation on hydrogen between industry and institutions from both countries.
The Hydrogen Task Force aims to serve as a forum for thought leaders to achieve affordable hydrogen solutions, with the vision to enhance energy security and resilience by scaling up low/zero-carbon hydrogen technologies and deployment.
(With agency inputs)
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