NTPC has invited online bids on behalf of its wholly-owned subsidiary – NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL) – from eligible bidders to install a hydrogen fueling station for a pilot project on green hydrogen mobility in Leh, Ladakh.

The last date for submitting bids is August 23, 2021, and the bids would be opened on the same day. Bidders must pay ₹11,250 (~$151) for the bid document. NTPC REL intends to finance the project through its resources.

NTPC REL, the renewable energy arm of NTPC, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the union territory of Ladakh to set up the country’s first green hydrogen mobility project. Under the pact, NTPC will support Ladakh in developing a carbon-free economy based on green hydrogen sources. The company aims to ply five hydrogen buses in the region and follow it up with a solar project and a green hydrogen generation unit in Leh.

Meanwhile, the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NTPC, had issued a global expression of interest for ten fuel cell electric vehicles for public transportation purposes in Leh and New Delhi.

Scope of work

The scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, packing and forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage, installation, testing, commissioning, trial operation, and performance guarantee test of hydrogen fueling station at Leh, Ladakh.

The tender also includes a three-year operations and maintenance contract, which includes all spares and consumables.

The successful bidder will also install a stepdown transformer for transforming power from 11 kV to 415 V and arrange for a net metering facility and all associated electrical and civil works required for interfacing with the solar substation.

The successful bidder will undertake the complete civil work to set up the containerized units, have relevant buildings, architectural works, boundary wall, admin room, control room or operator cabin, etc. The total area for the green hydrogen fueling station is 0.55 acres of land at one location.

The successful bidder will ensure that all safety provisions and precautions are covered diligently both at the time of design, commissioning, and operation.

Eligibility criteria

The bidder should meet the qualifying requirements stipulated in any one of the four qualifying routes.

Route-1 involves having a qualified bipolar-type water electrolyzer manufacturer for a hydrogen generation system (QEM). The bidder should have designed, engineered, manufactured, supplied, erected (or supervised erection), and commissioned (or supervised commissioning) a bipolar-type water electrolyzer (single or multiple units), in a single contract, for a hydrogen generation system of a minimum rated capacity of 30 Nm3/hr, within the last seven years before the date of opening the techno-commercial bid.

For Route-2, the bidder must be an Indian subsidiary company of a QEM meeting the requirements stipulated in Route-1. The bidder should have an ongoing collaboration agreement with the QEM with the validity for a period at least up to the end of the defect liability period of the contract. The bidder must be registered in India under the Indian Companies Act as of the date of opening the techno-commercial bid.

In Route-3, the bidder should have designed, engineered, supplied, installed, or supervised installation, commissioned or supervised commissioning of a bipolar-type electrolyzer-based hydrogen generation system, in a single contract, with a rated hydrogen generation capacity of 20 Nm3 /hr, within the last seven years before the date of opening the techno-commercial bid opening. The reference plant of 20 Nm3 /hr or higher must be successfully operational for at least one year before the date of opening the techno-commercial bid.

For Route-4, the bidder should have worked as an engineering, procurement, and construction agency in power or steel or oil and gas or petrochemical or fertilizer or cement or coal mining, including coal handling plant or any other process industry. The total executed value of such contracts (not more than three contracts) should be ₹300 million (~$4.04 million) or more within the preceding seven years before the date of opening the techno-commercial bid.

The average annual turnover of the bidder should not be less than ₹300 million (~$4.04 million) during the last three financial years as of the date of opening the techno-commercial bid. The average annual turnover of the collaborator or associate for the water electrolyzer should not be less than ₹30 million (~$404,058) or equivalent foreign currencies during the last three financial years as on date of opening the techno-commercial bid.

The net worth of the bidder and the collaborator or associate as on the last day of the last financial year should not be less than 100% of the bidder’s paid-up share capital.

Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker provides subscribers real-time and periodic updates on all solar tenders issued by private and government agencies.