Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:

Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy R.K. Singh asked the states and Union territories to set up steering committees for the energy transition. He said they should work together to add more renewables to the electricity generation mix. They should also promote energy efficiency and increase the use of biomass and green hydrogen. The minister urged the states to eliminate the use of diesel in agriculture by 2024 by limiting financial assistance through the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme that could be availed for adopting solar energy for agricultural feeders under the PM-KUSUM program.

ReNew Power signed a memorandum of understanding with Maharashtra for an investment of ₹500 billion (~$6.45 billion). The company plans to invest the funds to develop an additional 10 to 12 GW of renewable energy projects, including solar-wind hybrid and green hydrogen projects in the state over the next eight years. The investment is expected to generate 30,000 green jobs in the state.

The National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C) inked a memorandum of understanding with Tata Elxsi for collaborative research on e-mobility and associated technologies. A center of excellence in electric mobility would be established to foster research in transport electrification and associated embedded software. The center’s first project on electric vehicle motor design with C-Electric, a start-up, was also signed.

ADNOC, the UAE-based energy company, announced the acquisition of a 25% stake in the design stage of bp’s blue hydrogen project, H2Teesside. Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company, signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a stake in bp’s proposed green hydrogen project, HyGreen Teesside. ADNOC’s first investment in the UK will now advance the project, initially to the next design stage, the pre-FEED stage. H2Teesside is expected to kickstart the UK’s hydrogen economy by developing two 500 MW hydrogen production units by 2030. The project is targeting the start of operations in 2027. The HyGreen Teesside project is planned to produce 60 MW of hydrogen at start-up in 2025, increasing to 500 MW by 2030. Together, these two projects could deliver 15% of the UK government’s recently expanded 10 GW target for hydrogen production in 2030.

Emerson, a global software and technology company, and Toyota Australia collaborated to transform part of Toyota Australia’s operations into a commercial-grade hydrogen production, storage, and refueling plant. The project, supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), will adopt Emerson’s automation expertise to provide the control system that would help Toyota Australia demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of manufacturing hydrogen fuels, including the use of renewable solar energy. For the Toyota Australia Hydrogen Center, Emerson’s advanced DeltaV distributed control system will gather data from the plant’s complex equipment, making it easier to monitor the production and storage of hydrogen gas and document and validate the sustainability of operations.