Construction Industry News
GAIL (India) Ltd has inaugurated its first green hydrogen plant in Madhya Pradesh, marking a significant step for the country's largest natural gas transmission and distribution company's venture into new and alternative energy. The 10-megawatt proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, imported from Canada, is located at the Vijaipur complex. This plant is expected to produce approximately 4.3 tons of green hydrogen daily, with a purity of approximately 99.999% by volume. It uses electricity generated from renewable sources, such as solar energy, to split water and produce green hydrogen.
In line with the National Green Hydrogen Mission's target of achieving an annual green hydrogen production capacity of 5 million tonnes by 2030, this initiative underlines India's growing emphasis on hydrogen as an alternative fuel to reduce CO2 emissions while to meet the increasing demand for energy. Initially, the hydrogen generated from this facility will be used in addition to natural gas for internal use in various processes and equipment within the existing plant in Vijaipur. Furthermore, there are plans to distribute this hydrogen to private customers in nearby areas, made possible by high-pressure cascades.
In addition to sourcing renewable energy through open access, GAIL is also setting up around 20 MW solar power plants, including ground-mounted and floating setups, in Vijaipur to meet the green power requirement for the 10 MW PEM Electrolyzer. Moreover, GAIL is testing hydrogen blending with natural gas in Indore within its city gas distribution network on an experimental basis to assess its feasibility. The company aims to scale up blending ratios following required approvals based on test results, with current regulations only allowing a maximum of 5% hydrogen blending with natural gas. Collaboration studies are underway with Engineers India Limited and IIT Kanpur to explore further hydrogen blending options.
