The Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) tenders to set up 450,000 metric tons (MT)/annum production facilities for green hydrogen and 1.5 GW of electrolyzer manufacturing capacities across India has received an overwhelming response from industry majors in the country, according to Mercom sources.

The tenders for green hydrogen and electrolyzer manufacturing were issued in July this year under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) Tranche-I of the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) program.

Major bidders for the green hydrogen projects include BHEL, Torrent Power, Hygenco, JSW Neo Energy, CESC Projects, ACME Cleantech Solutions, Sembcorp, Greenko Group, and GH4 India (a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation, L&T and ReNew).

For the electrolyzer manufacturing capacity, the top bidders include NuTech, Green H2 Network India, Hygenco, Matrix Gas and Renewable (Gensol), C Doctor and Co., Larsen and Toubro Electrolyzers and Adani New Industries.

Under the Green Hydrogen tender, the selected bidder is expected to set up production facilities in thousand metric tons (TMT) scale for green hydrogen production and its derivates. Bidders can opt for either Bucket I – Technology Agnostic Pathways bucket or Bucket II – Biomass-based Pathways bucket. The total capacity under Bucket-I is 410,000 MT/annum of green hydrogen, and the total capacity under Bucket-II is 40,000 MT/annum.

The projects must be commissioned within 30 months of receiving the letter of award.

For the electrolyzer manufacturing tender, companies have submitted bids under two buckets – i) Electrolyzer manufacturing capacity based on any stack technology (1200 MW) and (ii) Electrolyzer manufacturing capacity based on indigenously developed stack technology (300 MW).

The selected bidder must set up the manufacturing facilities within 24 months of receiving the letter of award.

The guaranteed life of electrolyzers must be at least 60,000 hours.

Another large conglomerate is said to be seeking an extension to participate in the tender.

At a recent meeting with industry stakeholders, the Central Electricity Authority said it has begun planning to install transmission infrastructure to cater to the power demands of upcoming green hydrogen and green ammonia plants across seven coastal states and three inland states in consultation with the Central Transmission Utility.

In October this year, the MNRE unveiled a ₹4 billion (~$48.12 million) Research and Development Roadmap for the National Green Hydrogen Mission, seeking to develop an ecosystem that can help commercialize green hydrogen.