FM announces launch of HSBC India’s strategic partnerships for innovation in green hydrogen

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced the launch of HSBC India’s strategic partnerships towards enabling innovation in green hydrogen. HSBC India has partnered with IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF) to pursue technological advancements to make green hydrogen more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable.

“These two partnerships, with total grant support of Rs 15 crore or about $ 2 million will focus on innovation projects that will help prioritise green hydrogen as a strategic alternate fuel, help in building a robust, green hydrogen economy, and achieve the government’s vision of an energy-independent nation,” said a statement.

The finance minister underlined the government’s focus on driving green growth through a range of green reforms. “This will provide a roadmap towards reducing carbon intensity in the economy and enable the creation of green job opportunities,” she said at the launch, while noting that green hydrogen has a pivotal role to play in countering climate change and working towards enabling a low-carbon and self-reliant economy.

“We’re aiming to make India a global hub for production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen,” she further said.

The partnerships are expected to help boost the government’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, which is providing policy support towards achieving global leadership in green hydrogen transition. The National Hydrogen Energy Mission was announced in the Union Budget 2021-22.

Speaking on the occasion, Mark Tucker, Group Chairman, HSBC, said, “We’re committed to helping deliver a net zero global economy by 2050 or earlier in line with the Paris Agreement goals. We are providing finance to accelerate climate change solutions and building partnerships to drive technological breakthroughs, foster collaboration and support innovation towards enabling a green hydrogen economy.”

The partnership with IIT Bombay is expected to help encourage researchers, scientists, and students across IITs to develop breakthrough technologies and solutions that address key challenges in green hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization. “As part of the programme, IIT Bombay will invite project proposals, which will be evaluated by a steering committee composed of representatives from HSBC India, professors, and faculty members from multi-disciplinary areas,” said the release.

The committee will select the top three submissions; depending on the committee’s assessment, the project’s viability, and its commercial readiness, the shortlisted submissions could also be incubated at IIT Bombay.

Meanwhile the partnership with Shakti will focus on a geospatial analysis of industrial clusters in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh that have the potential to produce and use green hydrogen.