French energy firm TotalEnergies is to acquire a 25pc interest in green hydrogen venture Adani New Industries Limited (Anil) from Indian conglomerate Adani Enterpriseؙs, as it looks to expand its green hydrogen portfolio.

In its initial stages, Anil will develop a project to produce 1.3mn t/yr of urea—a derivative of ammonia—from green hydrogen. The product will be aimed at the Indian domestic market, in an effort to displace imports. Anil will invest around $5bn in a 2GW electrolyser fed by renewable power from a 4GW solar and wind farm.

It will target production of 1mn t/yr of green hydrogen by 2030, underpinned by around 30GW of new renewable power generation capacity.

$5bn – Initial investment in Anil project

“This future production capacity of 1mn t/yr of green hydrogen will be a major step in increasing TotalEnergies’ share of new decarbonised molecules—including biofuels, biogas, hydrogen and e-fuels—to 25pc of its energy production and sales by 2050,” says TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne.

The two firms aim to extend Anil’s operations as far up the value chain as possible to bring down costs—from manufacture of renewable energy assets in the upstream to transport infrastructure in the downstream.

“Our confidence in our ability to produce the world’s least expensive electron is what will drive our ability to produce the world’s least expensive green hydrogen,” says Adani chairman Gautam Adani.

“In our journey to become the largest green hydrogen player in the world, the partnership with TotalEnergies adds several dimensions that include R&D, market reach and an understanding of the end-consumer.”

Expanding portfolio

TotalEnergies has been expanding its hydrogen portfolio over the past year. The firm announced in January that it will co-develop a demonstration project for manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel using green hydrogen with UAE-based clean energy firm Masdar and Germany’s Siemens Energy in the UAE’s Masdar City.  

The firm is also working with Air Liquide on a green hydrogen project to decarbonise the operations of a refinery in Normandy.

Three innovative technologies are emerging to improve the long-term efficiency of producing green hydrogen, according to a new report from TotalEnergies. The first is the improvement of electrolysis technique; the second is solar-to-hydrogen, a technology with the capability of producing hydrogen directly from water and light; and the is the integration of electrolysers directly into wind turbines.

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Author: Tom Young