Green Hydrogen Hub project to pick up pace

Visakhapatnam: In a move to embark on a world-class holistic ecosystem tapping green energy, the integrated Green Hydrogen Hub at Pudimadaka intends to transform the power sector landscape of Andhra Pradesh and contribute generously to the country’s energy evolution.

The primary goal of the facility taken up by the NTPC Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station is to enable a global hub for green hydrogen production and meet the export requirements of the South Asian market along with its derivatives.

As part of the initiative, the NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) entered into an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation to set up an integrated Green Hydrogen Hub near Pudimadaka, Atchutapuram mandal during the Global Investors’ Summit held earlier.

The project which has been categorised into industrial and hydrogen areas stretching up to 1,200 acres would be completed in a phased manner.

While the industrial area of the park covering 600 acres would house sheds with solar roof tops, pre-engineered buildings and other industrial spaces, the rest of the land would be used for generating green hydrogen through renewable energy. Due to various reasons, the project, however, did not inch forward.

With Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laying emphasis on rolling out power sector reforms 3.0 to make Andhra Pradesh an energy hub for the future, work related to the green energy park is all set to gain momentum.

The park will come up at an estimated cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore to generate green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol along with other components. The estimated cost of each phase of the project is Rs 55,000 crore, the NTPC officials say.

Besides solar wafer and modules, the project also includes manufacturing facilities for new energy technologies, including fuel cells, batteries and wind turbine equipment.

After the formation of the new government in Andhra Pradesh, the project is expected to pick up pace and be wrapped up by 2030, following strict timelines.

NGEL, a fully-owned subsidiary of NTPC, aims at embarking upon green business initiatives, providing reliable, affordable and sustainable green energy solutions to attain India’s energy transition goals by leveraging innovation and technology.