India to trial green hydrogen microgrid for off-grid decarbonisation

India’s largest power utility NTPC Ltd is planning the country’s first green hydrogen based energy storage project in Andhra Pradesh.

The initiative, which has been awarded to Bloom Energy to develop, has been designed by NTPC to trial the production, storage and reuse of hydrogen to assess its potential in decarbonising the remote regions of the country, such as Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir in the far north that have a high dependency on diesel generators.

The project will comprise Bloom Energy’s 240kW solid oxide electrolyser powered from a floating solar plant, hydrogen storage and a 50kW solid oxide fuel cell for re-electrifying the hydrogen to power an NTPC building.

The microgrid will be installed at NTPC’s Simhadri facility on India’s east coast, site of a 2,000MW coal-fired generation plant as well as the new 25MW floating solar plant, which was commissioned in August 2021.

“Reducing carbon emissions is the number one priority in the fight against climate change, and green hydrogen will be critical to India’s decarbonisation objectives,” said Venkat Venkataraman, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Bloom Energy.

“Bloom’s technology is well-positioned to help India transition to a net-zero, hydrogen-powered economy, and we are excited to collaborate with NTPC to bring the country’s first green hydrogen microgrid to life.”

The proposal is that the system operates round the clock, with hydrogen production and storage during the hours of sunshine while overnight it is in a standalone mode.

Bloom Energy claims its high temperature electrolyser operates more efficiently than low temperature alternatives, while its solid oxide fuel cell produces electricity through a non-combustion electrochemical reaction with reduced carbon emissions, harmful air pollutants and water use compared to grid alternatives.

NTPC considers the project could be a precursor to large scale hydrogen energy storage projects and multiple microgrids in off-grid and strategic locations across the country.