BPCL’s Chairman A K Singh said the oil refining and fuel marketing company plans to scale up indigenous alkaline electrolyser technology for use in refineries via collaboration with BARC. An electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. For green hydrogen, renewable energy is used for electrolysis.
Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Monday said it has tied up with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for an electrolyser technology for green hydrogen as it looks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
BPCL’s Chairman A K Singh said the oil refining and fuel marketing company plans to scale up indigenous alkaline electrolyser technology for use in refineries via collaboration with BARC. An electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. For green hydrogen, renewable energy is used for electrolysis.
Electrolyser plants are presently imported and the collaboration is to “scale-up Alkaline Electrolyser technology for Green Hydrogen production”, a company statement said. “This is a first of its kind initiative to support the country’s commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” India has set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and towards that objective it is looking to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 50 per cent by 2030 from 38 per cent currently.
Refineries use large quantities of Hydrogen for de-sulfurization to make petrol, diesel and other chemicals. Currently, hydrogen is made at the refinery using steam reforming of natural gas, but this results in high CO2 emissions.
Therefore, refiners are setting up large-scale electrolysers to produce green hydrogen from water and thereby decarbonize Hydrogen production.
Singh said BPCL is fully committed to environment protection and ensuring a greener planet. “Today, through collaboration with BARC, we intend to scale up Indigenous Alkaline Electrolyser Technology and look forward to commercializing it for large use especially in Refineries.
“This will be another step towards ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in our journey for achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2040,” he said.
BPCL plans to expand its portfolio of renewable energy with solar, wind and biofuels to reduce its carbon footprint.
“The company intends to meet power requirements for new projects in its refineries, primarily from renewable sources,” the statement said.
Source : pti
