IJEP 45(5): 437-444 : Vol. 45 Issue. 5 (May 2025)
1. University of Delhi, Sri Venkateswara College, Department of Sociology, New Delhi – 110 021, India
2. University of Delhi, Sri Venkateswara College, Department of Economics, New Delhi – 110 021, India
Abstract
Globally, green hydrogen is seen as an alternative to fossil fuels because it is clean, versatile, has wide-ranging applications and is sustainable. India, like many other countries, is aggressively pursuing a green hydrogen economy since the launch of its ‘National Green Hydrogen Mission’ in 2021. But how ready is India for a green hydrogen economy, considering that it is expensive and that the most commonly used method of extracting it would require a lot of freshwater? This study reviews existing literature in the field, India’s green hydrogen policy and its road map and it assesses its water availability. It suggests that perhaps India’s green hydrogen policy should have a more holistic approach, evaluating not only its cost and technological aspects but also its water availability. For a developing economy, like India, transitioning to a green hydrogen economy would also reflect its inclusiveness.
Keywords
Green hydrogen, Water availability, Sustainable development
References
- Crabtree, G.W., M.S. Dresselhaus and M.V. Buchanan. 2004. The hydrogen economy. Physics Today. 57(12): 39-44.
- Woods, P., H. Bustamante and K. F. Aguey-Zinsou. 2022. The hydrogen economy- Where is the water? Energy Nexus. 7: 100123.
- NITI Aayog and RMI report. 2022. Harnessing green hydrogen: Opportunities for deep decarbonisation in India. National Institution for Transforming India and Rocky Mountain Institute, USA.
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy report. 2023. National green hydrogen mission. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.
- Clark II, W. W. and J. Rifkin. 2006. A green hydrogen economy. Energy Policy. 34(17): 2630-2639.
- Trattner, A., M. Klell and F. Radner. 2022. Sustainable hydrogen society– Vision, findings and development of a hydrogen economy using the example of Austria. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy. 47(4): 2059-2079.
- Posso, F., A. Pulido and J. C. Acevedo-Páez. 2022. Towards the hydrogen economy: Estimation of green hydrogen production potential and the impact of its uses in Ecuador as a case study. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy. 48(32): 11922-11942.
- Gondal, I.A., S.A. Masood and R. Khan. 2018. Green hydrogen production potential for developing a hydrogen economy in Pakistan. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy. 43(12): 6011-6039.
- Stangarone, T. 2021. South Korean efforts to transition to a hydrogen economy. Clean Tech. env. policy. 23: 509-516.
- Sontakke, U. and S. Jaju. 2021. Green hydrogen economy and opportunities for India. IOP Conf. Series Mater. Sci. Eng., 1206(1): 012005.
- Winter, L. R., et al. 2022. Mining non-traditional water sources for a distributed hydrogen economy. Env. Sci. Tech., 56(15): 10577-10585.
- Beswick, R. R., A.M. Oliveira and Y. Yan. 2021. Does the green hydrogen economy have a water problem? ACS Energy Letters. 6(9): 3167-3169.
- Imasiku, K., et al. 2021. A policy review of green hydrogen economy in Southern Africa. Sustain., 13(23): 13240.
- Falcone, P.M., M. Hiete and A. Sapio. 2021. Hydrogen economy and sustainable development goals: Review and policy insights. Curr. Opinion Green Sustain. Chem., 31: 100506.
- Kar, S. K., et al. 2023. Hydrogen economy in India: A status review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy Env., 12(1): e459.
- Müller, F., J. Tunn and T. Kalt. 2022. Hydrogen justice. Env. Res. Letters. 17(11): 115006.
- Lindner, R. 2022. Green hydrogen partnerships with the global south. Advancing an energy justice perspective on ‘tomorrow’s oil’. Sustain. Develop., 31(2): 1038-1053.
- Kumar, A., J. I. Höffken and A.J.K. Pols. 2021. Dilemmas of energy transitions in the global south: Balancing urgency and justice. In Routledge explorations in energy studies (1st edn). Routledge.
- Scita, R., P.P. Raimondi and M. Noussan. 2020. Green hydrogen: the holy grail of decarbonisation? An analysis of the technical and geopolitical implications of the future hydrogen economy. FEEM working paper no. 13.2020.
- Sovacool, B. K. and M. H. Dworkin. 2015. Energy justice: Conceptual insights and practical applications. Appl. Energy. 142: 435–444.
- Vardhan, R. V., et al. 2022. A review on green hydrogen: Future of green hydrogen in India. 6th International Conference on Devices, circuits and systems (ICDCS). IEEE. pp 303-309.
- EY India report. 2022. Accelerating green hydrogen economy: Prepared for green new energy for a net zero India. Ernst and Young LLP, India.
- IEA report. 2021. India energy outlook 2021. World Outlook special report. International Energy Agency, France.
- IRENA report. 2020. Renewable power generation costs in 2019. International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.
- Ministry of Jal Shakti report. 2021. Water and related statistics. 2021. Reference no. CWC/
2021/130. Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. - TERI/WSDS report. 2022. Water: Key facts for its sustainable management in India, World Sustainable Development Summit 2022. Tata Energy Research Institute.
- India Water Resources Information System (India WRIS). Available at : www.indiawris.gov.in.
- NITI Aayog report. 2018. Composite water, management index: A tool for water management 2018. National Institution for Transforming India in association with the Ministry of water resources, Ministry of drinking water and Ministry of rural Development, Government of India.
- Roome, J. 2022. India seeks to arrest its alarming decline in groundwater. World Bank Blogs.
- PIB report. 2021. Sewage water treatment. Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
- Sharma, Y.S. 2022. Desalination plants across the coastline in the works to fight water crisis. The Economic Times.