Experts highlight potential of natural hydrogen

Visakhapatnam: In a step to focus on sustainable energy sources, a two-day international conference on ‘exploring the potential of natural hydrogen: a sustainable energy frontier’ concluded on Friday.

Organised by the Department of Petroleum Engineering and Earth Sciences, the conference was inaugurated by Prof PK Banik, president, board of governors, IIPE and Neloy Khare from the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The Director of IIPE, Prof. Shalivahan, Patron of the event, highlighted the urgent need to explore clean and renewable alternatives such as natural hydrogen to meet the growing global energy demand while mitigating climate change.

The conference aimed to foster international collaboration and knowledge exchange in the rapidly emerging field of natural hydrogen energy. During the event, the sessions of the conference centred on understanding natural hydrogen resources and its applications, sustainability and future perspectives.

Further, the platform emphasised the formulation of exploration strategies, policy initiatives and road map for making natural hydrogen as an important clean energy resource.

With several keynote addresses and technical sessions, the event provided a robust platform for advancing research and industrial interest in natural hydrogen as a viable energy alternative. Scientists and executives from national and international academic institutions and industries participated in the conference.

In his valedictory address, Prabhakar Thakur, head, Hydrocarbon Efficiency and New Energy Wing of Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) spoke about different policy initiatives taken up by the DGH in the hydrogen energy sector.