Jindal Stainless, India’s top stainless steel manufacturer, has become the country’s first stainless steel company to establish a green hydrogen facility. During FY2021-22, the corporation purchased renewable energy in bulk to cut carbon emissions by 1.4 lakh tonnes, with the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Jindal Stainless has begun a green hydrogen project on a trial scale of 90 Nm3/hr capacity at its Hisar production facility, which will be operational by August 2023 and will be capable of reducing carbon emissions by around 2,700 tonnes per year. The same can be scaled up to 500 Nm3/hr in the next phase.
The bright annealing process employs hydrogen as a medium. Bright annealing of stainless steel entails creating a controlled or inert environment to minimize surface oxidation, resulting in a brighter surface and a considerably thinner oxide layer. As a result, hydrogen is employed as a medium rather than a fuel. The corporation intends to replace this with green hydrogen in the near future.
Jindal Stainless intends to build a 700 Nm3/hr green hydrogen plant at its Jajpur production location.
Water and renewable power are the two most important prerequisites for the hydrogen production sector. The cost of renewable energy generation has declined over the last 10 years, settling about 3 – 4 per unit. So, India is well-positioned in both clean water and renewable electricity to generate green hydrogen.
Reference- Live Mint, Economic Times, Mercom India, JMK Newsletter, Money Control