NTPC bags India’s first Green Hydrogen Microgrid Project

This will be India’s first Green Hydrogen based Energy Storage and one of the world’s largest project. 

NTPC Ltd has been awarded a project of ‘Standalone Fuel-Cell based Micro-grid with hydrogen production using electrolyser’ at NTPC Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh). This will be India’s first Green Hydrogen based Energy Storage Project and one of the world’s largest. It would be a precursor to large scale hydrogen energy storage projects and would be useful for studying and deploying multiple microgrids in various off-grid and strategic locations of the country.

The hydrogen would be produced using the advanced 240 kW Solid Oxide Electrolyser by taking input power from the nearby floating solar project. The hydrogen produced during sunshine hours would be stored at high pressure and would be electrified using a 50 kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. The system would work in a standalone mode from 5 PM to 7 AM.

This unique project configuration is designed in-house by NTPC. For India, this project would open doors for decarbonising the far-off regions of the country like Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) etc., hitherto dependent on diesel generators. The project is in-line with the vision of the Prime Minister for becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and making Ladakh a carbon-neutral territory.

The present installed capacity of NTPC is 67,907.5 MW (including 13,425 MW through JVs/Subsidiaries) comprising of 47 NTPC stations (23 coal-based stations, 7 gas-based stations, 1 hydro station, 1 small hydro, 14 solar PV and 1 wind-based station) and 26 joint venture stations (9 coal based, 4 gas based, 8 hydro, 1 small hydro 2 wind and 2 solar PV).