Exploration and production major Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned “India’s first 99.999% pure” green hydrogen plant in Assam.
Green hydrogen, which has the potential to replace fossil fuels, is the name given to hydrogen gas produced using renewable energy such as wind or solar power that do not entail greenhouse gas emissions.
Sushil Chandra Mishra, OIL’s Chairman and Managing Director, said the green hydrogen pilot plant set up in central Assam’s Jorhat has an installed capacity for producing 10 kg of hydrogen per day. The plant was commissioned within three months.
The plant is also the first in India to use the anion exchange membrane (AEM) technology, he said. Green hydrogen is being produced from the electricity generated by a 500-kW solar plant using a 100-kW AEM electrolyser array.
“We expect the production of green hydrogen from this plant to increase from 10 kg to 30 kg per day in the future,” Mr. Mishra said.
OIL has initiated a detailed study with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Guwahati on blending green hydrogen with natural gas for commercial applications of the blended fuel.
OIL officials said hydrogen gas, which does not emit carbon dioxide when burned, can be used as a fuel in transportation, power generation, and industrial activities.
In a fuel cell that converts the energy of a chemical into electricity, hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water vapour, thus making it a potential clean alternative to fossil fuels.
