Seawater-to-green hydrogen: NTPC to set up unique project near Vishakhapatnam

In a key development to further the green hydrogen movement in the country, NETRA, the R&D wing of NTPC, is now establishing a 1-ton-per-day (TPD) seawater-to-green-hydrogen plant at NTPC Simhadri near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. To process seawater, NTPC has deployed a low-carbon desalination plant that utilizes waste heat from the flue gas of the thermal power plant. This innovative approach enables cost-effective conversion of seawater into hydrogen-grade water.

Producing 1 kg of hydrogen typically requires 12–13 kg of purified water. Considering India’s water scarcity challenges, the Government of India is prioritizing the development and demonstration of technologies to produce hydrogen from low-grade water sources, such as seawater and wastewater.

NTPC Green Energy Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of NTPC, is actively exploring multiple pathways to support the objectives of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

It has recently been revealed that PM Narendra Modi will also be laying the foundation stone of Green Hydrogen Hub at Pudimadaka at the end of this month, which is nearly 50 km from Visakhapatnam and is also being built by NTPC.

NETRA had recently revealed that it embarks to set up green hydrogen production plant using Plasma Oxy Gasification of MSW/Agri-Waste technology. The plant shall be a unique one globally, wherein plasma assisted ‘oxy gasification’ of MSW-RDF/Agri-Waste shall be carried to produce ‘very high quality syn-gas’, from which high purity hydrogen ( over 99.9%) shall be separated using a novel configuration of ‘gas membrane’ and ‘pressure swing adsorption’.

National Green Hydrogen Mission

With an objective to produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030, the Central Government launched Green Hydrogen Mission in 2021. This is to solidify the country’s position as a global leader in the green hydrogen economy.