NTPC signs pact with Gujarat Gas to blend green hydrogen in PNG network

State-owned power major NTPC Limited has signed an
agreement with Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL) for an initiative to blend green hydrogen
with the piped natural gas (PNG) supplied by the latter at NTPC’s Kawas power
plant in the Surat district of Gujarat.

Green Hydrogen will be produced using electricity from
the existing 1 MW floating solar project of NTPC Kawas. According to a company
statement, this will be blended with PNG in a predetermined proportion and will
be used for cooking applications in NTPC Kawas Township.

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A first-of-its-kind project in the country, the project
aims to decarbonize the cooking sector and ensure self-sufficiency for the
energy needs of the nation.

“With the continued focus on a clean environment,
NTPC has taken up an initiative of blending of green hydrogen in Piped Natural
Gas (PNG) network of GGL (Gujarat Gas Ltd) at NTPC Kawas,” the statement
added.

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Both companies signed the formal agreement on Tuesday in
the presence of Mohit Bhargava, CEO, NTPC REL and ED RE, NTPC, and Sanjeev
Kumar, MD, GGL and GSPL.

The initial percentage of hydrogen blending in PNG will
be around 5%, and after successful completion, it will be further increased,
according to the statement.

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NTPC is India’s largest energy company with an installed
capacity of 69 GW, with a diversified fuel mix. NTPC plans to generate 60 GW of
renewable energy (RE) in a decade and is undertaking several pilot projects in
green hydrogen.

Recently, NTPC reported a 14.6% growth in its annual
group generation of power at 360 billion units in FY22. The company said it was
the highest ever annual power generation ever by the group. The total installed
capacity of the group also rose by 4.7% to 68940 MW with 3130 MW of capacity
addition.

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GGL is India’s largest city gas distribution (CGD)
company in terms of sales volume, with 27 CGD licenses present across 43
districts in 6 states and 1 Union territory in the states of Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh and Union Territory
of Dadra & Nagar Haveli.