Acquisitions in renewables space have jumped by over 300 percent in value terms in 2021 which points to an enhanced appetite from companies to invest in climate-friendly technologies.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, SSV Ramakumar, director-research and development and board member of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC); Gagan Sidhu, director, CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF) and Jal Irani, senior vice president-institutional equity research at Edelweiss Financial Services assessed the opportunities and challenges in this area.

First up, Sidhu said, “Energy, hydrogen and electric vehicles (EVs) are the three pillars on which net-zero India will be built and the true transition will only happen once these three transitions intersect. We are not there yet, but we will be there very soon. And, the total amount of capital that will be required is to the tune of about USD 10.1 trillion from now until 2070.”

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Meanwhile, Ramakumar said that biomass-based gasification is a solution to bridge the infrastructure gap. He also said that there is a need to undertake gasification, biomass to reduce green hydrogen costs to USD 2 per kg.

He said, “If one has dreamed of producing green hydrogen at USD 2 per kg, right now it stands at USD 5-7 per kg if you want to bridge that gap between USD 2/kg and USD 5-7/kg then-innovative pathways like biomass-based gasification is one answer which my company is working and soon we are going to set up a demo unit.”

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Talking about the renewable sector specifically, Irani said that opportunity in terms of green hydrogen and renewables is significant for refineries. He said a decline in hydrogen costs will increase the profitability of refiners.

For the entire discussion, watch the video