After Reliance, IOC, NTPC, now GAIL to Foray into Hydrogen

State-owned natural gas corporation GAIL plans to foray into hydrogen and ethanol production, as well as expanding its presence in the petrochemicals segment.

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water. Many countries are venturing into hydrogen production from a variety of domestic resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.

As for India, major companies like Reliance Industries, Indian Oil Corporation, and NTPC have announced ambitious plans for generating hydrogen. GAIL has now joined that list.

“The global energy sector is witnessing a paradigm shift in recent years as the world is transitioning to a sustainable energy future,” GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said in the company’s latest annual report.

As part of a push to embrace cleaner forms of energy, GAIL will be laying pipeline infrastructure to connect consumption centres to gas sources while also augmenting its renewable energy portfolio, he said.

“Your company has been scouting for opportunities to scale up the RE portfolio from the current 130 MW through bidding and other inorganic routes such as mergers and acquisitions. In addition, your company is also foraying into ethanol and hydrogen generation,” he said.

Jain further noted, to accomplish a cleaner primary energy mix for India, the government is emphasizing the expansion of the natural gas sector so as to achieve a gas-based economy along with growth in renewables. GAIL as a leading integrated energy major has aligned with this vision.

Accordingly, GAIL is laying around 6,000-kilometres of pipeline, including a west coast to east coast pipeline from Mumbai to Jharsuduga in Odisha via Nagpur. Currently, the firm has around 13,700-km of natural gas pipeline network.

GAIL Limited has targeted a 1 GWh renewable energy capacity by investing around Rs. 5,000 crores for setting up compressed biogas as well as ethanol plants.

Jain also said, GAIL has the largest and most diverse LNG portfolio in India that can offer both stable prices and reliable supply to consumers.

Additionally, the company has signed up with government-owned power equipment-maker BHEL to ramp up its renewables portfolio.