considered one of the solutions to the escalating climate change crisis. Green hydrogen is produced out of water (which contains two atoms of hydrogen chemically bonded to one oxygen atom) through an electrolytic process with the use of renewable power. The equipment used for splitting water into its elements using electricity is called an electrolyser. Major uses of green hydrogen include power generation, as an energy carrier to power heavy industry such as steelmaking, manufacturing ammonia for the fertiliser industry, and as a fuel for hard-to-decarbonised vehicles, including aircraft and ships. Across the world, green hydrogen development efforts are gaining technical and economic importance, both in developed and developing countries. The burgeoning global green hydrogen market is projected to be worth $11 trillion by 2050, as per Goldman Sachs’ estimates. It is widely believed that every sector in which fossil energy is currently employed will become decarbonised during the energy transition over the next decades. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, while speaking at the Airbus Summit 2021, said that while quantities, delivery mechanisms, and the price of hydrogen pose certain challenges, he is confident to deliver hydrogen-powered zero- emission commercial aircraft by 2035. Power generation According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021 , of the 26,823 TW of electricity produced in 2020, 16,447 TW (61%) was generated from fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas. The IPCC estimates that the production of electricity emits 10 giga-tonnes, or approximately 37% of global CO 2 emissions. Therefore, renewable power generation becomes a priority agenda for producers supplying power to the grid. In the transport sector, green hydrogen will also supplement electric power to replace fossil fuels. In India, now that the commercial viability of renewable power, especially solar power, has been well established, public sector majors NTPC and Coal India are also venturing into green hydrogen, for which low cost green power is an essential requisite. NTPC have got the go-ahead from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to set up a 4,750 MW renewable energy park at Rann of Kutch in Khavada, Gujarat to become India’s largest solar park.
H storage
Iron ore pellets
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Figure 2 Direct reduced iron
India’s private sector is also extremely proactive in clean energy. Major private sector companies Reliance and Adani are also focusing on the sector. Adani plans to invest $20 billion in clean energy, aiming to make it the biggest clean energy company in the world, without subsidy or viability gap funding. The company now has a cumulative 25 GW of renewable energy projects already developed and under construction. Reliance has revealed plans to set up 100 GW of solar power-generating capacity by 2030. Being a major player in the global hydrocarbon industry, Reliance expects to make green hydrogen available at $1 per kilogram by 2030, catalysing the country’s energy transition towards zero emissions. A relatively new entrant, ReNew Power, started in 2011 and has developed a generation base of 10 GW, with several projects in the pipeline and also under development. Tata Power currently has one- third of its generation of 13 GW as renewable power and plans to phase out coal-based capacity and expand its clean and green capacity to 80% by 2030. Steel Production of steel is estimated to contribute to about 9% of CO 2 emissions globally and due to
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