Introduction-India’s 1st Green Hydrogen Steel Plant:

- The first-ever green hydrogen plant in India for the stainless steel sector was recently inaugurated by the Union Minister of Steel at Hisar, a facility of Jindal Stainless Limited.

- The plant is a global pioneer, being the world's premier off-grid green hydrogen facility within the stainless steel industry.

- It incorporates rooftop and floating solar to underline India's commitment towards green growth, job creation, and accomplishing the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2070.

Supplementing Government Initiatives:

- Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, 2019: Aims to promote domestic scrap availability to diminish coal consumption in steel manufacturing.

- National Green Hydrogen Mission: Implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to transform India into a global hub for green hydrogen production, utilisation, and export.

- The Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicles Scrapping Facility) Rules introduced in September 2021, to augment the availability of scrap in the steel sector.

- NEDO Model Projects: Energy efficiency enhancement projects in steel plants by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.

India's Initiatives for Green Hydrogen Promotion:

- National Hydrogen Mission: Launched in Union Budget 2021-22, this aims to globally position India for green hydrogen and its derivatives, as well as facilitate R&D and pilot projects.

- Green Hydrogen Consumption Obligations: Proposed by MNRE to mandate fertiliser and petroleum refining industries to incorporate a specific percentage of green hydrogen in their total consumption.

- Green Hydrogen Hubs: Regions capable of large scale green hydrogen production/usage identified to be developed as green hydrogen hubs.

Comprehending Green Hydrogen:

- Hydrogen is an essential industrial fuel used in ammonia, steel, refineries, and electricity production.

- Current hydrogen manufacturing produces 'black or brown' hydrogen from coal.

- 'Green' hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources like wind or solar via electrolysis.

- The hydrogen colours refer to the source of electricity used to produce hydrogen. 

National Green Hydrogen Mission in Focus:

- The mission incentivises commercial green hydrogen production, intending to make India a green hydrogen exporter.

- It focuses on demand creation, production, utilisation, and exporting of green hydrogen.

- Interventions include the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme and development of Green Hydrogen Hubs.

- The objective is to generate a green hydrogen production capacity of 5 MMT per annum and renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in India by 2030.

- The initiative aims to attract investments worth over Rs 8 lakh crore, creating approximately six lakh jobs.

- It is expected to reduce fossil fuel imports by over Rs 1 lakh crore and decrease nearly 50MT of annual greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy oversees the mission.