NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday unveiled his plan to do a ‘Jio’ in energy transition by producing green hydrogen for under $1 per Kg, or roughly Rs 73 at Friday’s dollar exchange rate, for faster adoption of the cleanest mobility solution available to the world at this point.
“Green hydrogen is zero-carbon energy. It is the best and cleanest source of energy, which can play a fundamental role in the world’s decarbonisation plans,” India’s richest man told told International Climate Summit 2021, adding Reliance will pursue the target of first reduce the cost to below $2 per kg and ultimately to under $1 in a decade.
Ambani’s vision for green hydrogen has a familiar ring to it. It has the potential to disrupt the mobility and energy transition markets the way Reliance did when it entered the telecom market with Jio, which reduced tariffs and got consumers hooked to data services- a key ingredient for moving towards ‘internet-of-all-things’. Green hydrogen currently costs between $3 and $6.55 per kg.
Ambani also said Reliance will set up 100 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity by 2030, which is part of a $10 billion green energy bet he had announced to stockholders on June 25.
The company will use the power generated from this capacity to produce hydrogen by electrolysing water. With abundant sunlight, India can generate over 1,000 GW of solar power.
This energy uses just 0.5% of the country’s landmass, he said, adding India has already achieved 100 GW of renewable energy capacity and the target of 175 GW by December 2022 is now well within sight.
Reliance’s focus on hydrogen is a key ingredient for achieving Ambani’s net-zero goals. “Last year, I had announced our ambitious commitment to make Reliance a net-carbon zero company by 2035. This year, I presented our strategy and roadmap for the new energy business, which will be the next big ‘value creation engine’ for Reliance and India,” he said.
“We have started developing the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex over 5,000 acres in Jamnagar. It will be amongst the largest integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world. This complex will have four giga factories, which cover the entire spectrum of renewable energy,” he said.
Hydrogen is the flavour of the season, thanks to the government’s National Hydrogen Mission. This is part of the government’s strategy for reducing the economy’s carbon footprint as New Delhi staves off pressure to announce a net-zero target. Power and renewable energy minister Raj Kumar Singh told TOI India has the potential to become “one of the largest, if not the largest” producer of green hydrogen.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the goal to reach 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Out of this, Reliance will establish and enable at least 100 GW of solar energy by 2030, he stated. This, Ambani said, he said, will create a pan-India network of kilowatt and megawatt-scale solar energy producers who can produce green hydrogen for local consumption.
“Over the next three years, we will invest Rs 75,000 crore in these initiatives. Reliance will thus create and offer a fully integrated, end-to-end renewables energy ecosystem to India and Indians,” he said.
The four giga factories will include an integrated solar photovoltaic module factory, an advanced energy storage battery factory, an electrolyser factory for the production of Green Hydrogen, and a fuel cell factory for converting hydrogen into motive and stationary power.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
