Industry association the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) and the government of the Indian state of Kerala have announced a proposal for a $575mn green hydrogen hub in the port city of Kochi.

The first phase of the proposed Kochi Green Hydrogen (KGH2) Hub will include a 150MW electrolyser and produce 60t/d of hydrogen, with the expectation of future scaleup to gigawatt capacity. The hub, modelled on ‘hydrogen valley’ projects in the EU, will also establish production, storage, transmission and end-use infrastructure for hydrogen in compressed-gas and liquefied form within a 50km range around Kochi.

Offtake is expected to initially come from the mobility sector, aligning with Kerala’s plans for a fleet of 60 hydrogen-fuelled buses. IH2A expects future demand from the refinery, fertiliser and chemical sectors to drive the hub’s second-phase capacity expansion and scaleup.

150MW – Initial capacity of proposed KGH2 Hub

“Green hydrogen is part of Kerala’s net-zero pathway. We are actively collaborating with industry and investors to replicate the hydrogen valleys in Europe, in Kerala,” says Kandathil Abraham, chief principal secretary to the government of Kerala’s chief minister.

“IH2A has proposed that the KGH2 Hub be developed through a public-private project consortium structure, with participation from industry, state-owned enterprises, government and multilateral funding agencies,” says Amrit Singh, IH2A secretariat lead and senior managing director at FTI Consulting.

IH2A has proposed a two-tier governance structure for KGH2, with a public-private advisory group working with project consortium structures or special purpose vehicles to implement the proposed plan.

“Building hydrogen infrastructure of this scale will require global climate funding support at project development stage. The KGH2 Hub framework can bring funding agencies, project developers, producers and offtakers together on a common platform,” Singh adds.

Mobility demand

In the same week, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Tata Motors, signed memorandum of understanding with US technology firm Cummins to collaborate on the design and development of low- and zero-emission propulsion technology solutions for commercial vehicles. These will include hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines, fuel cells and battery-electric vehicle systems.

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Author: Polly Martin