European Investment Bank Greenlights India’s Large Scale Hydrogen Projects with 1Bn Euro

In a major announcement that will give India’s Hydrogen projects a push, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has given its nod on joining the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) and provide impetus to green hydrogen hubs on large scale for projects located in India. Following Indian government and EIB approvals, the funding is pegged at close to one-billion-euros.

The Memorandum of Understand with IH2A will make it possible for the the EIB to give additional support to India on its investments related to clean energy investment and green hydrogen development in the country. The IH2A is looking to draw in global climate finance aimed at the establishment of hydrogen hub in India. Towards this, it will join hands with the Government of India, state governments, global hydrogen players and Indian firms.

EIB has set its sights on investments in major public sectors to give an impetus to the green hydrogen industry and a credit facility with the Indian government is in the offing. This facility will aid India’s initiatives to commercialise upcoming green hydrogen technologies. This will help bring down costs as result of consistent investments in the areas of  innovation, R&D, green hydrogen hubs, as well as pilot projects.

As per the press release, the EIB has taken cognizance of curbing the cost of green hydrogen in India. The EU Bank is looking to contribute in a major way to India’s National Hydrogen Mission, working in unison with industry, national government, and state authorities. This would  enable the use of green hydrogen to decarbonise energy, industry and transport, said Kris Peeters, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank in a press note.

India has been accelerating efforts consistently with respect to Green Hydrogen.

This co-operation is expected to further contribute to implement a national green hydrogen road-map that delivers India’s energy transition and net-zero carbon plans. The Green Hydrogen Mission recently got a shot in the arm with the formal approval of Rs 17,490 crore. The Union Budget 2023 has also laid an emphasis on Green Hydrogen with a slew of initiatives.

As per Jillian Evanko, President and CEO, Chart Industries and Founding Member, IH2A, funding for large scale green hydrogen projects is at s stage of nascency. EIB’s involvement will help address a key eco-system challenge. He further  hoped that working closely with EIB investors and the government would help realize hydrogen commercialization at scale, in the next half decade. “This is an essential part of getting the first few steps of the hydrogen transition right before we look at 2030 scenarios,’’ he said.

India and EIB cooperation dates back to 1993 since the time that it has been active in the country. EIB is the world’s largest international public bank and leading financier of renewable energy and climate action. The EU Bank has been lending support to India’s ambitions and goals related to renewable energy energy (solar and wind). This also includes facilitating the roll-out of urban, climate-friendly transport schemes in Bangalore, Pune, Lucknow and Bhopal.

In September, the first EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum was held in Delhi during the visit of commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson that further strengthened EU-India clean energy co-operation. The co-operation  highlights a Team Europe approach for a green and resilient future, underpinning the EU global gateway strategy, noted Ugo Astuto, EU Ambassador to India.

Furthermore, the recent meeting held by the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition in Brussels that focussed on the key role of financing and support to further promote a competitive renewable hydrogen industry in a strong European internal market and  to analyse how to make the European Union a more attractive area for investment and continue to maintain its leadership in the development of green hydrogen. The meeting was chaired by Ignacio Galán since its creation, with the Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans.

Other discussions entailed The Net Zero Industry Act and the EU Hydrogen Bank, two forthcoming support packages and funding mechanisms. The meetings followed a the day after the European Commission outlined its intentions for the Green Deal Industrial Plan, which looks to usher a supportive environment for augmenting EU’s manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies and clean energy transition.