NTPC and Bloom to launch green hydrogen microgrid in India

NTPC Limited (India’s largest energy conglomerate) has selected Bloom Energy’s electrolyser and hydrogen-powered fuel cell technologies for the country’s first green hydrogen-based energy storage deployment.

The project is designed to explore large-scale, off-grid hydrogen energy storage and microgrid projects at strategic locations throughout the country.

The initial collaboration between NTPC and Bloom Energy India is expected to serve as a foundation for expanded future cooperation. It will use Bloom Energy’s solid oxide, high-temperature electrolyser to generate green hydrogen from renewable electricity produced by a nearby floating solar farm.

The hydrogen will then be converted into carbon-neutral electricity without combustion through Bloom Energy’s hydrogen fuel cells to power NTPC’s Guest House, a local accommodation intended for use by NTPC employees and guests. The project is expected to start in 2022 in Simhadri, Visakhapatnam, India.

The solar farm coupled with Bloom Energy’s electrolyser and hydrogen fuel cells is intended to operate around the clock. At scale, the combination could enable long duration clean energy storage and resilient power for businesses, residential neighbourhoods, dense urban areas, and remote and island communities.

Venkat Venkataraman, CTO at Bloom Energy, said, “Reducing carbon emissions is the number one priority in the fight against climate change, and green hydrogen will be critical to India’s decarbonisation objectives.”