India is the world’s second most populated country and the world’s third largest economy. Its energy system is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, such as coal for power generation, oil for transportation and industry, and biomass for heating and cooking. India’s per capita energy usage is 30% of the global average.
India, being the world’s third-largest oil consumer, is largely reliant on imports. By 2040, its energy demand will have doubled and its electricity demand will have tripled. The environment will suffer the most as a result of the rise. The energy sector is a major producer of pollution in the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. In this view, International Climate Summit (ICS 2021) ICS 2021 will bring together distinguished speakers, academics, industry experts, and policymakers from around the world for sessions and discussions on hydrogen and its potential as an energy source. The summit is a timely endeavour that will send a favourable message to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow in November 2021.
The eminent Summit Chair & Chairman, Environment Committee, PHDCCI, Dr. J. P. Gupta, shares his insights and objectives behind introducing such an exquisite summit.
1. Tell us briefly about the event International Climate Summit, and it’s objective?
The International Climate Summit 2021 is a virtual event scheduled for 3rd September, 2021 in an effort to position India as a leader in the field of renewable energy, specifically Green Hydrogen. The global summit is being organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Environment Committee in collaboration with NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology. Greenstat Asia Norway, Gexcon Norway, Arena H2 Cluster Norway, India Hydrogen Alliance, and TERI are supporting the event by being the knowledge partners.
This Global Summit will build a dialogue for India’s transition to clean energy with a special focus on ‘Powering India’s Hydrogen Ecosystem.’ The summit sessions will focus on cooperative efforts that will help establish solutions for storing and transporting pressurised and liquefied hydrogen, to build a hydrogen economy and supply chain in India.
The International Climate Summit (ICS 2021) is a precursor to the 26th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held in Glasgow in November 2021. The summit will allow worldwide collaboration in establishing sustainable routes for production, storage, transportation, distribution, and ambitious deployment of hydrogen technologies, with the goal of moving towards a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future. Addressing these factors, the International Climate Summit 2021 aspires to move India to the forefront of renewable energy.
2. How does the International Climate Summit intend to address the climatic concerns through a consolidated approach and timely interventions, ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Glasgow in November 2021?
There has been an evident increase in the global energy consumption and thus the dire need to harness alternative energy sources that are not just green, but also renewable and plentiful. One such source with a substantially higher energy output per unit mass is hydrogen.
Given that hydrogen development is at its nascent stage and there remains a lot of uncertainty surrounding its safety, it is pertinent to deliberate and understand the legal and regulatory requirements, investment cases, financing structures, operational requirements, revenue stream, sharing and other elements that need to be considered to formulate an effective acceptable commercialisation model. A gradual transition with adequate policy and safety standards will help build confidence among stakeholders and provide a conducive environment for a Hydrogen based economy.
India is one of the best-suited countries for producing renewable energy from solar panels and the wind, making the manufacturing of hydrogen from renewables cost-effective. India has a competitive advantage due to abundant natural resources and favourable meteorological and geographical circumstances. To accelerate the adoption of hydrogen technologies in India, a step-change in government policy and business actions is required.
National Hydrogen Energy Mission under the aegis of Government of India has set up National Hydrogen Portal – www.greenhydrogen-india.com, a single information source for research, production, storage, transportation and application of hydrogen across the country.
3. Given that the Indian government has already declared the National Hydrogen Energy Mission, how do you see hydrogen energy becoming economically and technically viable in the near future?
In recent years, hydrogen has received a lot of attention as part of the transition from fossil fuels to emission-free alternatives. Moreover, hydrogen investment is being boosted to become a fundamental part of India’s energy system and international collaboration as a tool for sustainable development and a transition of energy centered around human beings. By implementing smart grids and announcing notable investments in R&D, technology upgrades, and capacity creation, the government has already taken a significant step in this direction.
Hydrogen is used as a fuel in the production, transport and energy storage. It has the potential to play a crucial cross-cutting role in the future low carbon economy, with applications across the industrial, transport, and power sectors. There has been a growing appreciation that complete electrification of our current energy systems could be prohibitively expensive and technologically challenging, given the important storage, flexibility, chemical, and heating attributes of current fossil fuels. Based on this, the experts have predicted that the hydrogen demand could increase five-fold by 2050, with use in the industry sector being the major driver. In power, hydrogen could be a cost-effective way of providing inter-seasonal storage in a highly variable renewable electricity system from 2040. Scaling up the use of domestically produced hydrogen can significantly reduce energy imports.
4. Who are the speakers, and what will be the takeaways from the summit?
The International Climate Summit 2021 will take a step ahead in the mission of the 26th CoP summit, allowing for a unified approach and timely interventions to address climate concerns. The Summit will bring together stakeholders from across the global clean energy industry, along with other world leaders, in order to reach an agreement on climate change and sustainability issues.
The summit includes some eminent speakers like Prof. Vijay Raghavan, PSA to Govt. of India; Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog; Dr. Vijay Saraswat, Member (Energy), NITI Aayog; R. R. Rashmi, Former Special Secretary, MoEFCC & Distinguished fellow TERI; Sturle Harald Pederson, Chairman, Greenstat Hydrogen Asia, Bergen; Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary Department of Science & Technology; Nobuo Tanaka, Ex ED, IEA, Japan; Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D) IOCL; Dr. Karen Landmark, Chair of the Board Greenstat Asia, Norway; Dr. Ashish Lele, Director National Laboratory Pune; and many more, all of whom would share their leadership insights on the Hydrogen economy. The summit’s proceedings will be broadcast to a global audience of more than 150 countries.
Hence, the meet will aim to build an India-centric and action-oriented approach for building self-reliance in the hydrogen ecosystem and solutions.
5. How India intends to position itself as the world’s cheapest hydrogen hub?
Within the energy transition, India is already one of the global spearheads, with the fastest growth in renewable energy and as the fastest-growing consumer of energy.
However, the current energy system in India is still strongly dominated by fossil fuels (76%,IEA) and the third-largest importer of oil – correspondingly in excess of ⅘ part of the country’s consumption. The establishment of an “International Hydrogen Alliance” will create greater synergies between science, technology and entrepreneurship to create a win-win situation for all, inspired by The International Solar Alliance (ISA). A tight collaboration with Norway will be a good starting point to gain momentum.
With a proactive attitude towards the implementation of hydrogen value chains in India, the country will gain advantages by becoming less dependent on other countries that have technological expertise, systems and technology. By taking an early offensive position in the battle for the hydrogen economy, India will be able to become a net exporter in this sector.
Due to its geographical location, climate conditions, and quantity of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro, India is well positioned to become the world’s cheapest hydrogen centre by 2050.
Having introduced such an innovative summit, International Climate Summit (ICS 2021) will address all issues pertaining to clean energy together, in order to find a set of balanced, positive and beneficial solutions for the future.
Source: telegraphindia.com
