With growing global commitments to reduce carbon emissions and the need to transition to cleaner energy sources, hydrogen has emerged as a promising alternative fuel. Particularly, green hydrogen, produced through renewable energy sources, has gained attention due to its potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint and enhance energy efficiency in various sectors, including transportation, industrial applications, and power generation. In this context, Primus Partners was engaged to conduct a detailed market assessment to evaluate the economic and technical viability of hydrogen as an alternative fuel in India’s evolving energy landscape. The goal was to identify market opportunities and provide strategic recommendations for positioning green hydrogen as a critical element in future energy solutions.

Approach

Primus Partners adopted a multi-layered approach to assess the viability and potential of hydrogen as a clean energy solution. The key components of the approach included:

• Economic Analysis: Conducting a comprehensive market assessment to analyze the financial viability of hydrogen, especially green hydrogen, as an alternate fuel. This included evaluating production costs, infrastructure requirements, and the potential for cost reductions over time.
• Technical Feasibility: Evaluating the technical feasibility of hydrogen adoption across various industries, focusing on storage, transportation, and distribution challenges, as well as advancements in hydrogen fuel cell technology.
• Carbon Reduction Impact: Analyzing the environmental benefits of hydrogen, especially its potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fossil fuels.
• Policy and Regulatory Review: Examining existing government policies, incentives, and regulatory frameworks that support the adoption of hydrogen as a fuel. Recommendations were made for policy changes that could accelerate hydrogen’s market penetration.
• Market Opportunities: Identifying market opportunities for hydrogen adoption in key sectors, including transportation, heavy industry, and energy storage, as well as potential partnerships with renewable energy producers.

The Benefits

• Reduced Carbon Emissions: Hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, offers a zero-carbon energy solution, helping industries and governments meet their climate goals by significantly lowering carbon emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.
• Energy Efficiency: The market assessment highlighted hydrogen’s potential to enhance energy efficiency, especially in industries like steel production and heavy transportation, where electrification may not be viable.
• Long-Term Economic Viability: While the initial investment and production costs of hydrogen remain high, the report outlined the long-term economic viability of hydrogen as production scales up, and infrastructure and technology improvements drive down costs.
• Enhanced Energy Security: By promoting hydrogen as an alternative fuel, countries like India can reduce their dependence on imported fossil fuels and enhance energy security through domestically produced clean energy.
• Strategic Market Positioning: The assessment positioned hydrogen as a key player in the future energy market, providing opportunities for investments in hydrogen production, storage, and transportation infrastructure, as well as driving innovation in hydrogen fuel cell technology.