BPCL and BARC collaborate for electrolyser technology

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) intends to help build about one MW electrolyzer manufacturing capacity in the country by 2025. Its research and development (R&D) division is collaborating with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to scale up the alkaline electrolyser technology for green hydrogen production.

The oil marketing firm will utilise a third-party venture to set up the electrolyser-making facility, whereby the alkaline electrolyzers thus produced will likely cost 20 to 30 percent less than the current rate of about $800 per kW. BARC’s technology enables the production of cost-effective electrolysers, with the potential for reducing the cost led by technological and economic innovations.

Currently, producing green hydrogen costs triple that of grey hydrogen, even as state-owned refining companies plan to partly replace the volume of grey hydrogen used for removing sulphur from the fuel. About 55 kWh of renewable electricity is used to produce a kilogram of green hydrogen, and to make green hydrogen viable, both capital and operating expenditure is expected to be kept within limits.

The government launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission in January, 2023 with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, for an incentive-based plan for the production of green hydrogen and electrolysers, and encouraging R&D activities.