Indian Oil to develop green hydrogen plant at Mathura refinery

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) will develop the country's first green hydrogen plant at its refinery in Mathura. It aims to prepare for a future serving the increasing demand for oil and cleaner forms of energy each. IOCL will not set up captive power plants at all its future refinery and petrochemical expansion projects but rather utilise the 250 MW of electricity it generates from renewable sources such as solar power. Hydrogen is the newest buzz for reaching the energy needs of the world. It is a clean fuel but producing it is energy-intensive and has carbon byproducts. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman IOCL, said that Mathura has been chosen under its closeness to the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ). Vaidya said that green hydrogen would replace carbon-emitting fuels that are utilised in the refinery to treat crude oil into value-added goods like diesel and petrol. He said every expansion project would use grid electricity, preferably green power to meet the energy requirements. IOCL's refinery expansion plans involve increasing the capacity of units at Barauni in Bihar and Panipat in Haryana and establishing a new unit near Chennai. The chairman said the company would add 25 million tonne (mt) of refining capacity by 2023-24. Currently, they are 80.5 mt, including CPCL they are going to be 105 mt. IOCL is preparing to set up some hydrogen production systems on a pilot basis. Petroleum refining and marketing would remain the core businesses of IOC, including much higher petrochemicals integration. Moreover, the gas would play a much larger role. The company would have a presence in electric mobility space via charging stations at petrol pumps and a planned battery manufacturing unit. Estimates by several agencies see Indian fuel demand increasing to 400-450 mt by 2040 compared to 250 mt right now. It gives sufficient space for all kinds of energy to co-exist. Vaidya said IOC already commissioned battery swapping stations over many cities. The oil company has already set up 286 charging stations, including swapping stations, over the country, which would be increased to 3,000 EV charging stations in the upcoming few years. Image Source Also read: IOCL to sell hydrogen units for revenue