The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) have signed a letter of intent for a long-term collaboration focusing on hydrogen and other clean technologies.

The partnership is expected to lead to the development of higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for hydrogen energy clusters that are being set up by DST, and also identify existing technologies and potential interventions from Fraunhofer in green hydrogen.

The partnership aims to integrate the interventions with indigenous technologies and deploy or calibrate them for Indian conditions.

DST will provide the framework for cooperation in the hydrogen valley cluster projects and support activities, and facilitate resources.

Fraunhofer will act as a technology partner for the hydrogen valley or cluster, provide information and access to technologies along with scientific and technical experts, and collaborate in preparing technology roadmaps and guidelines for the innovation ecosystem or cluster.

An official press release said India and Germany share the goal of decarbonizing their economies and are committed to jointly pursuing energy security and climate protection programs. Both countries have committed to developing a national green hydrogen economy to facilitate the achievement of the Paris Agreement targets.

Green hydrogen is likely to play a central role in India’s ambition to reach 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 and in developing energy storage solutions that could potentially replace lithium-ion-based batteries, Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy R.K. Singh said recently.

In January, the Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission to facilitate demand creation, production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen with an initial outlay of ₹197.44 billion (~$2.3 billion). The largest portion of the funding — ₹174.9 billion (~$2.1 billion) — is earmarked for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT) program.

Earlier this month, the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a memorandum of understanding with the India Hydrogen Alliance to provide €1 billion (~$1.1 billion) to develop large-scale green hydrogen hubs and projects across India.

EIB also agreed to join the IH2A, a move that is expected to bring the industry, investors, and government agencies together on the green hydrogen hubs and projects.

EIB formally agreed to join the hydrogen alliance, a move that is expected to bring the industry, investors, and government agencies together on the green hydrogen hubs and projects.