JSW Steel, CSIR-NCL, Scotland Join ‘India H2 Alliance’

The India H2 Alliance has expanded its membership with the inclusion of JSW Steel, which joins the IH2A energy transition coalition as the Steel and Cement Work Group lead, along with two government agencies – CSIR-National Chemicals Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) and Scottish Development International (SDI), the international arm of the Scottish Government; and three national sustainability think tanks – TERI, CEEW and WRI India.

All members and partner organisations of IH2A work closely with the government of India to build the hydrogen economy and supply chain in India.

The inclusion of India’s leading steel player JSW Steel in IH2A is significant as Steel and Cement have been identified as priority industrial sectors for decarbonisation, where hydrogen may be adopted early on.

Prabodha Acharya, Chief Sustainability Officer, JSW Steel, says, “JSW Group is uniquely placed to lead on green hydrogen topic as we have significant interests in steel, cement and renewable energy. As the IH2A Work Group Lead for Steel and Cement, we will bring other industry majors and the government together to build consensus for a common path towards hydrogen commercialisation in the steel and cement sectors.”

He adds that green steel, as a hydrogen product export, can be a national strategy for taking leadership in the global hydrogen value chain, by embedding hydrogen in the industrial supply chain.

CSIR-NCL is a premier governmental research agency in India focussed on R&D in chemical and allied sciences and engineering with emphasis on clean energy, climate change and sustainability.

Dr. Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR-NCL, says, “Public-private partnerships and active collaboration across the hydrogen value chain are critical for the development of a domestic hydrogen supply chain. The government has invested significantly into hydrogen research and development in the past decade. The time is ripe for taking the next step towards setting up large-scale demonstration projects and taking a multi-sectoral approach for different use-cases.”

“We look forward to collaborating actively with the private sector and help put India on the global hydrogen map,” Mr. Lele adds.

Scottish Development International (SDI) brings significant expertise from large-scale hydrogen demonstration projects at Aberdeen, Fife, Orkney, and the Western Isles in Scotland which could be leveraged by India for hydrogen policy design and project development.

According to David Rennie, Global Head of Energy, Scottish Development International (SDI), Scotland is set to become a leading hydrogen nation, with an ambition to generate 5GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 – enough to power the equivalent of 1.8 million homes. He believes that a Clean Energy partnership between India and Scotland with a focus on green hydrogen, both at a G2G and a B2B level, can create new hydrogen champions, new energy jobs and economic growth in both regions.

Mr. Rennie says, “We look forward to working with all stakeholders to realize this vision through the IH2A industry coalition in India, as we continue dialogue with the government of India in the run up to Glasgow COP26.”

The new member and partner organisations will work closely with IH2A Steering group Co-Leads Chart Industries and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), supported by the IH2A Secretariat run by consulting firm FTI Consulting.

Jillian Evanko, President and CEO, Chart Industries and Founding Co-Lead, IH2A, says, “We are excited to partner with JSW Steel on jointly developing the hydrogen eco-system in India. This is a leadership moment for decarbonisation in the steel industry and we are proud to have India’s largest steel player with us.”

The India H2 Alliance is an industry coalition of global and Indian companies committed to the creation of a hydrogen value-chain and economy in India. IH2A intends to collaborate with private sector partners, the government and the public to ensure that costs of hydrogen production are brought down, a local supply chain for hydrogen and related applications grows and India is able to achieve its net-zero carbon ambitions by developing a hydrogen economy that complements its national renewable energy and EV/battery-technology plans.