NLC India has invited bids to commission a 4 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer-based green hydrogen project at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu.

Bids must be submitted by March 24, 2025. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders must submit a bid guarantee of ₹8.65 million (~$99,299).

The selected bidder will be responsible for the design, engineering, manufacturing, inspection, testing, supply, logistics, construction, erection, commissioning, trial operations, and performance guarantee testing.

The project must be completed within 18 months from the date of the letter of award. After completion, there will be a free operation and maintenance period of 12 months as part of the warranty or defects liability period, followed by a paid operation and maintenance period of 48 months.

The scope of work includes setting up a fully containerized 4 MW PEM electrolyzer system capable of producing at least 72 kg of hydrogen per hour, along with all subsystems. The project also involves installing a hydrogen compression system with two compressors, each handling 36 kg per hour, to compress hydrogen from 25 bar (electrolyzer output) to 200 bar and 500 bar. The hydrogen storage system must also include a 200 kg storage capacity at 500 bar.

The selected bidder will also be responsible for obtaining all regulatory approvals.

Bidders must be either manufacturers or channel partners of a manufacturer of PEM electrolyzers or PEM stack-based hydrogen generation systems. They must have supplied at least one PEM electrolyzer or PEM stack-based hydrogen system of at least 300 kW capacity. The system must have operated for at least six months before the tender opening date.

If a bidder is a channel partner of a manufacturer that does not meet this requirement on its own, it can still qualify based on the manufacturer’s experience.

Alternatively, bidders can qualify if they have completed industrial projects as engineering, procurement, and construction contractors in sectors such as oil & gas, chemical, power, renewable power, petrochemical, hydrocarbon, fertilizer, or hydrogen generation within the last seven years. These bidders must have executed at least one project valued at ₹700 million (~$8.03 million), two projects of at least ₹430 million (~$4.94 million) each, or three projects of at least ₹350 million (~$4,02 million) each. The completed projects must have been operating for at least one year as of the tender opening date.

Additionally, these bidders must enter into a deed of joint undertaking with a PEM manufacturer or its channel partner that meets the technical criteria for supplying the PEM electrolyzer or stack.

Bidders must have an average annual turnover of at least ₹260 million over the last three financial years. They must also have a positive net worth per their latest audited financial statement.

In January last year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy released an implementation framework to incentivize the annual production of 200,000 MT of green hydrogen.

The ministry had also issued guidelines for incentive disbursement for up to 450,000 metric tons per annum of green hydrogen production under Component II of the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition program.