Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation collaborated with Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) to organise a kick-off workshop to familiarise the key stakeholders about the initiative and further initiate programme activities for the programme ‘Hydrogen Economy: Innovation-led Growth in the Industrial Clusters of Jharkhand’. The workshop was conducted on February 16, 2024, in Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jharkhand.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from the government, industry, academia, and NGOs to explore the feasibility and viability of green hydrogen applications in the various industrial clusters. The speakers and participants in the event included senior leaders from Tata Steel, SAIL, ACC Cement, Adhunik Power, Grasim Industries, Maithan Ceramics, Ramakrishna Forgings, NIFFT, etc.
Dr Sachin Kumar, Director, Industry Building and Cooling, Shakti, moderated a panel discussion about the opportunities and challenges associated with transitioning industrial units in Jharkhand to use hydrogen as an energy source. On behalf of Shakti, he presented the initiative supported by HSBC, focusing on India’s net zero emissions target and the efforts to build green hydrogen ecosystems. Shakti emphasised the need for technology solutions in the green hydrogen supply chain and policy-enabled growth which is related to co-benefits like green jobs and improved air quality. Shakti acknowledged the need for more commercially viable projects, citing Tata Steel’s exploration of green hydrogen use in blast furnaces.
The potential applications of hydrogen in iron and steel, electricity, and transportation sectors and existing applications in fertiliser and refinery sectors was also discussed by Shakti as well as highlighting of India’s target of energy independence by 2047, importance of cost economics, and demand generation of green hydrogen and the importance of development of a green hydrogen ecosystem and creating facilities for demonstration in the applicable sectors.