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Researchers Develop Low-Cost Battery Energy Storage Solution


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					</table><p>Engineering and consulting firm <a href="https://www.gensol.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gensol Engineering</a> has emerged as the winning bidder for a 237 MW hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing capacity under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program in collaboration with <a href="https://www.matrixgas.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matrix Gas &amp; Renewables</a>, a natural gas aggregator and hydrogen infrastructure developer.</p>
<p>This capacity was secured through a competitive tender by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (<a href="https://www.seci.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SECI</a>).</p>
<p>The Gensol-Matrix consortium has secured a cumulative 300 MW capacity, including a prior 63 MW awarded in the first tranche of the SECI tender. This equates to a total incentive of ₹4.5 billion (~$53.6 million) under the PLI program.</p>
<p>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-electrolyzer-manufacturing-sight-ii-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allotted</a> ₹44.4 billion (~$535.6 million) to incentivize electrolyzer manufacturing to reduce hydrogen production costs as part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).</p>
<p>Last January, the Union Cabinet <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cabinet-approves-%E2%82%B9197-billion-hydrogen-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> NGHM to facilitate demand creation, production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen, with an initial outlay of ₹197.44 billion (~$2.3 billion).</p>
<p>Electrolyzers are a crucial component for producing green hydrogen and its derivatives. India has set a target of producing 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030.</p>
<p>Anmol Jaggi, Managing Director of Gensol Engineering, said, &#8220;Winning this PLI capacity under the National Green Hydrogen Mission is a testament to our commitment and technical capabilities. It not only strengthens our position in the green hydrogen sector but also opens up new avenues for growth and collaboration in renewable energy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Chirag Kotecha, Whole-time Director at Matrix Gas and Renewables, said, &#8220;Winning the PLI bid for this prestigious project amidst stiff competition from major conglomerates highlights our technological expertise and manufacturing experience as Gensol – Matrix consortium. Electrolyzer manufacturing initiative is central to our strategy for large-scale decarbonization through green hydrogen, aligning with our vision of establishing India as a leader in sustainable, low-carbon energy.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Gensol-Matrix collaboration is expected to leverage both companies&#8217; strengths in green hydrogen and its derivatives domain, including green steel and green ammonia.</p>


Gensol-Matrix Gas Consortium Wins 237 MW Hydrogen Electrolyzer Bid


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					</table><p>U.S.-based hydrogen fuel cell company <a href="https://www.plugpower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Plug Power</a>&#8216;s loss-widening streak continued even after it announced cost-cutting measures following the <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/plug-power-resolves-going-concern-doubts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> of going concern doubts in the previous quarter.</p>
<p>The New York-based company&#8217;s net loss widened 43% to $295.8 million in the first quarter of 2024 from $206.6 million last year, hurt by lower sales and restructuring charges.</p>
<p>Plug recorded $46.3 million in restructuring charges, impairments, and other provisions in the quarter as it implemented cost-cutting measures like headcount reductions and facility consolidations to improve its cash position.</p>
<p>Quarterly revenue declined by 43% year-over-year to $120.3 million, down from $210.3 million. The drop was attributed to seasonality in equipment sales and crimped equipment margins.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have faced challenges, particularly this quarter, with equipment margins due to strategic inventory reductions and… product sales,&#8221; said CEO Andy Marsh during a post-earnings conference call with analysts.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, operating loss widened to $259.4 million from $209.8 million a year ago, even as net cash used in operating activities and capital expenditures fell compared to last year as the company looked to conserve cash to fund its operations.</p>
<p>The company cited several initiatives aimed at improving profitability. With its Georgia and Tennessee hydrogen plants now producing at a combined 25 tons per day capacity, Plug said it could displace higher-cost third-party fuel with its own internal supply. Price increases across Plug&#8217;s product portfolio, especially for hydrogen pricing, are also expected to impact margins in the coming quarters positively.</p>
<p>Marsh stated the company is making &#8220;steady progress&#8221; in executing its goals despite the challenging market dynamics.</p>
<p>Plug aims to meet rising demand through its Louisiana plant coming online in 2024, bringing total internal hydrogen production capacity to 40 tons per day.</p>
<p>The company&#8217;s revenue rose by 27% in the previous quarter, allowing it to allay fears about its ability to continue operations. The company had said it had sufficient financial resources and liquidity to sustain its ongoing activities &#8220;for the foreseeable future.&#8221;</p>
<p>In the third quarter, however, its net loss had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/plug-power-reports-hydrogen-supply-challenges-mount" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ballooned</a> by 66% as delays in plan executions hurt the bottom line.</p>


Plug Power’s Losses Deepen Despite Cost-Cutting Measures


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					</table><p>Bharat Petroleum Corporation (<a href="https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BPCL</a>) has invited bids to set up a green hydrogen plant and refueling station at the 100% solar-powered Cochin International Airport (CIAL) in Kochi, Kerala.</p>
<p>The last date to submit bids is March 1, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day.</p>
<p>The proposed facility, to be used to refuel hydrogen buses, will have the capacity to produce 100 normal cubic meters per hour (Nm3/hr) of green hydrogen using a 500-kW electrolyzer system. It must also have the provision to expand up to 200 Nm3 /h.</p>
<p>The facility will include an electrolyzer system, oxygen and hydrogen separators, synthesis towers, purification systems, compressors, storage cascades, dispensing units, and other auxiliary systems.</p>
<p>Renewable energy and raw water connection will be provided at the site.</p>
<p>The tender invites bids for the procurement of the electrolyzer system with a balance of stack and accessories for hydrogen generation capacity at 30 bar pressure. The minimum purity of hydrogen produced should be 99.998%.</p>
<p>The electrolyzer system will be a containerized plug-and-play system. It will include rectifiers, transformers, piping, valves, instruments, analyzers, electrical systems, and automation using a programmable logic controller.</p>
<p>The contractor must provide two years’ worth of spares and operate and maintain the system for five years after commissioning. The delivery period is six months from issuing the letter of acceptance.</p>
<p>The design, engineering, and project management consulting for the project will be executed by <a href="https://tractebel-engie.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tractebel Engineering</a>.</p>
<p>Recently, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-pilot-implement-hydrogen-steel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> pilot projects aimed at using green hydrogen to decarbonize the transport, steel, and shipping industries.</p>
<p>MNRE also <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-incentives-green-hydrogen-production" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlined</a> a framework to incentivize the production of 200,000 MT of green hydrogen annually.</p>
<p>Last year, Oil India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/oil-india-green-hydrogen-himachal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids to establish a 1 MW green hydrogen project in Himachal Pradesh, with a 17 Kg/hr generation capacity.</p>


BPCL Invites Bids for Green Hydrogen Refueling Station at Cochin Airport


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					</table><p>Brazil-based chemical company <a href="https://www.unigel.com.br/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unigel</a> said it would invest about $1.5 billion in an industrial-scale green hydrogen project in the South American country.</p>
<p>The project would make Unigel the country&#8217;s largest producer of green hydrogen.</p>
<p>Unigel said that it owns other pilot projects in Brazil, which are in the experimental stages in Ceará and Rio de Janeiro. The company is currently negotiating terms with industry players to derive access to the capital market through an initial public offering (IPO) to make the new phases of the project market ready.</p>
<p>The company is investing $120 million in the project&#8217;s first stage, which is already under construction. It would use electrolysis technology from Germany&#8217;s <a href="https://thyssenkrupp-nucera.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thyssenkrupp nucera</a>.</p>
<p>The company expects the installed capacity to be 100 thousand tons per year of green hydrogen by 2027.</p>
<p>Roberto Noronha Santos, the CEO of Unigel, said, &#8220;We have numerous differentials that allow us to lead Brazil towards the green hydrogen and ammonia economy. First, Unigel already has enough ammonia production capacity to use green hydrogen. In addition, we have access to infrastructure and clean and competitive energy sources at the Camaçari Petrochemical Complex. Finally, Unigel also operates one of the only two ammonia terminals in Brazil, located in the port of Aratu, also in Bahia.&#8221;</p>
<p>Once operational, Unigel will offer its customers hydrogen as a fuel for various types of vehicles and as raw material in the steel industry and oil refining.</p>
<p>Last April, integrated hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol producer Aker Clean Hydrogen and its portfolio company <a href="https://mercomindia.com/aker-horizons-statkraft-produce-green-hydrogen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collaborated</a> with Statkraft and SOWITEC to explore opportunities in Brazil and India to produce green hydrogen and ammonia.</p>
<p>According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, hydrogen trade would significantly <a href="https://mercomindia.com/green-hydrogen-trade-low-cost-option/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contribute</a> to a more resilient and diversified energy system. Hydrogen is currently being traded through existing, repurposed gas pipelines resulting in the drastic reduction of transport costs. The agency said that as hydrogen becomes an internationally traded commodity, its production will witness increased investments, fulfilling the global energy demand of around $4 trillion by 2050.</p>


Brazil-based Unigel to Invest $1.5 Billion for a Green Hydrogen Project

<p>Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy &amp; New Materials (<a href="https://www.arci.res.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ARCI</a>) claimed to have developed a method to produce energy-efficient hydrogen from a methanol-water mixture at ambient pressure and temperature.</p>
<p>The new method combines the two most common hydrogen-producing processes &#8211; electrolysis and reformation, to produce highly pure hydrogen from methanol-water mixture by electrochemical methanol reformation (ECMR) at ambient pressure and temperature.</p>
<p>According to scientists, the main advantage of this process is that the electrical energy needed to produce hydrogen is one-third of that used in water electrolysis.</p>
<p>In the ECMR process, which uses polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), hydrogen can be produced at a lower temperature in the range of 25-60⁰C and at low pressure, unlike chemical reformation. Hydrogen separation or purification steps are not required since it is well separated from CO2 by the polymer membrane used in the system.</p>
<p>ARCI team is working on this technology and have developed an electrolysis unit of up to 5 kg/day capacity to produce hydrogen. The corresponding energy requirement for the electrolyzer stack is around 17 KWh/kg. The hydrogen thus produced by ARCI is highly pure and can be directly used in PEM fuel cells to generate power of about 11-13 kW.</p>
<p>ARCI team has developed the indigenous process for fabricating the core components like membrane electrode assembly (MEA), bipolar plates, and several process equipment. The core components of the PEM-based ECMR electrolyzer stack were fabricated indigenously and integrated with other components in the system.</p>
<p>The electrolyzer stack was fabricated using a reactant flow field plate with exfoliated graphite material. The use of carbon materials as bipolar plates has been one of the significant achievements in replacing the titanium plates, which is otherwise generally used in electrolyzer unit assembly, offering a conservative cost-benefit.</p>
<p>Hydrogen is gaining much attention due to its high specific energy value of 40 kWh/kg compared to chemical fuels like gasoline, diesel, liquid petroleum gas, which are around  12-14 kWh/kg. The most abundant raw material containing hydrogen is water. It is also present in natural gas, petroleum, and biomass, and they can form the source for the generation of hydrogen.</p>
<p>ARCI has patented this technology and is working with industry partners to integrate renewable energy sources.</p>
<p>Recently, researchers at ARCI <a href="https://mercomindia.com/new-process-enhance-stability/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that they had increased the efficiency and stability of Titanium dioxide (Ti02)-nanorods-based perovskite solar cells using a new process.</p>
<p>Earlier, scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology Mohali <a href="https://mercomindia.com/researchers-claim-developed-reactor-effective-hydrogen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> to have developed a prototype reactor that operates under natural sunlight to produce around 6.1 liters of hydrogen in eight hours.</p>


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