Zijin Mining, a prominent Chinese company, has recently been granted approval to proceed with the second-phase expansion of the Julong copper project situated in Tibet. This significant development received the green light from the Tibet Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, signaling a pivotal step forward in the project's evolution. The proposed expansion endeavors to substantially augment the operational capacity of the Julong copper project, elevating its daily processing capacity from the existing 200,000 tons to a formidable 350,000 tons. Such a substantial increase is poised to establish the Julong mine as the foremost single copper mining operation in China in terms of both mining and processing scale, underscoring its strategic importance within the domestic mining landscape. In tandem with the expansion plans, Zijin has publicly disclosed its commitment to invest a staggering sum of 17.46 billion yuan, equivalent to approximately $2.42 billion, into the augmentation of the Julong copper project. Notably, this substantial investment will be entirely self-financed by Julong Copper, reflecting the company's confidence in the project's long-term viability and potential for profitability. Looking ahead, upon the successful completion of the expansion endeavors and associated construction activities, the Julong mine is slated to commence full-fledged production operations by the culmination of 2025. This projected timeline underscores the concerted efforts and meticulous planning involved in bringing such large-scale mining projects to fruition, ensuring that they adhere to stringent regulatory requirements while meeting the evolving demands of the global copper market. The approval for the second-phase expansion of the Julong copper project in Tibet marks a significant milestone in Zijin's strategic objectives and underscores its commitment to fostering sustainable growth within the mining sector. As one of the leading mining companies in China, Zijin's ambitious expansion plans for the Julong project underscore its proactive approach towards capitalizing on opportunities for growth and maximizing the potential of its mineral assets. Furthermore, the approval granted by the Tibet Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission underscores the collaborative efforts between regulatory authorities and private enterprises to promote responsible and sustainable development within the region. By adhering to stringent regulatory frameworks and incorporating best practices in environmental stewardship and community engagement, Zijin is poised to set new benchmarks for excellence in the mining industry while fostering positive socio-economic impacts in Tibet and beyond. From an operational perspective, the expansion of the Julong copper project represents a significant technological and logistical undertaking, requiring meticulous planning and execution to ensure seamless integration with existing infrastructure and operational processes. With an enhanced processing capacity of nearly 350,000 tons per day, the Julong mine is poised to capitalize on economies of scale and achieve greater operational efficiency, thereby enhancing its competitiveness within the global copper market.     Source: Chemanalyst

The Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP) has laid emphasis on keeping receipt in buying and selling of green coconut otherwise strict action will be taken for it. The directorate made the observation today at an awareness meeting on "Buying and selling of green coconut at a logical price" at its head office in the city, said a press release here. BSS Reports DNCRP Director General (DG) AHM Shafiquzzaman presided over the meeting while its officials and related traders were present there. AHM Shafiquzzaman said DNCRP will conduct regular market surveillance to control the price of green coconut. "Valid receipt should be kept for buying and selling the green coconut. If the price is somehow higher than the fair price, the traders will be brought under severe penalties including fines," he added. On August 24 night, he said, the highest price of green coconut at the wholesale level was found between Taka 40 and Taka 70. That's why the best quality green coconut cannot more than Taka 100 at retail level, he mentioned. Shafiquzzaman said green coconut price increasing spree is going on at every level of wholesale and retail as no one keeps any voucher or sales receipt for it. "We have already started working against it across the country. As a result, the price of green coconut has started to decrease," he added. He said they have already given instruction to continue the market surveillance until the maximum retail price of green coconut comes within Taka 100 per unit. The DNCRP DG said the demand for green coconut has increased at a great rate due to the increase of dengue infection. "Taking advantage of this, green coconut traders are unethically increasing the prices," he said, adding that traders have already been fined in some parts of the country for selling green coconut at excessive prices. Besides, traders are being warned to sell green coconut at the right price and keep the vouchers, he further said.

As there has been a universal cry of late across the globe for going organic to cut down on use of chemical fertiliser to protect the environment especially pure water and clean air, a research-based biodiversity conservation organisation closer home has embarked on a novel initiative to introduce young school children to organic farming and vermicomposting. Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org) has launched an initiative to provide hands-on training to young school children on how to plan and execute a vegetable/flower garden in the traditional organic agriculture  practices. The school children are being sensitised on prepare organic manure through vermicomposting of organic wastes generated in every household every day. “We are providing practical training to young school children on how to collect seeds, germinate seeds, preserve sapling, plant saplings and nurture the plants till they give us flowers, fruits/vegetables,” said Arif Hussain, manager of Aaranyak based in Kaziranga landscape. As part of the initiative a demonstration as well as hands-on training on gardening and vermicomposting was provided to students of Japoripathar Kuruabari LP School. The students learned how to prepare soil for gardening, collect and sow seeds, vermicomposting and care for seeds as they germinate and grow. A vermicomposting tank was provided from Aaranyak and handed over to A Nath, Head Master of the school so that the school children get to know about entire process of vermicomposting through hands on involvement in a sustained manner. Numal Das, a field assistant at Aaranyak, taught about 40 the children from the school about the process of vermicomposting under supervision of Arif Hussain. “We are, in fact, going to set up a tiny garden of medicinal plants in the school campus using organic manure and traditional method so that it encourages the young minds to remain green throughout their life in future,” Hussain said. Similar, hands-on training organic cultivation was also provided in another school called Diring Bagicha L P School in Kaziranga landscape as part of the same initiative. Source: The Shillong Times

Under pressure to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the European Union is pushing policies to clean up its economy. In an effort to slow the planet's heating, the European Union made a promise in 2019 to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Despite the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and the energy crisis associated with it, EU lawmakers are still pushing for policies to cut pollution. They have written some targets from the European Green Deal into law and are haggling over others. They have added green strings to coronavirus relief packages and ripped up rules blocking clean energy projects. "COVID didn't kill the Green Deal," said Pieter de Pous, a Berlin-based analyst at climate think tank E3G. "In fact, it made it stronger." If the European Union manages to clean up its economy, it could serve as a blueprint to polluters from the United States to China — and show countries across Africa and Asia that one of the world's richest emitters is serious about climate change. But how close is the European Union to reaching its targets? And how much further does it have to go? Together with media partners in the European Data Journalism Network, DW is tracking the bloc's progress in five key sectors. This article will be updated regularly as new data becomes available. Emissions: Cutting greenhouse gas pollution The European Union has cut annual greenhouse gas pollution by about 30% since 1990, mainly by burning less coal. It now wants to cut greenhouse gas pollution 57% from those levels by the end of the decade. "The honest truth is that the world is not on track to keep the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius," said European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, architect of the Green Deal in November 2022. "We need more ambition."  But the EU's latest target falls short of cuts needed to honor the promise of keeping global warming to 1.5 C (2.7°F) by the end of the century. Climate Action Tracker, a project from two environmental research organizations, found that emissions would have to fall at least a further five percentage points, by a total of over 62%. Current policies from member states look set to bring down emissions by just 36%-47%.  Power: More renewable energy The European Union gets 22% of its energy from renewable sources. Last year, it put forward a plan to hit 40% by the end of the decade. Then, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the European Commission said it wanted to increase that again, to 45%. The target implies a quick and strong push to electrify polluting activities and clean up the continent's electricity grid. The proposal has passed two rounds of legal bureaucracy but must still be agreed on by member states, which are lobbying to keep the target at 40%.  The European Union has scrambled for sources of energy to replace gas since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and shut pipelines. Countries such as Germany, the European Union's biggest economy, have restarted coal-fired power plants, signed decadelong deals with gas producers in Africa and the Middle East, and built terminals to receive shipments of liquefied natural gas from abroad. At the same time, Germany and other EU member states have promised to build more renewable sources of energy and make it easier for companies to do so. Though analysts expect a spike in pollution from burning more coal, they are more worried about the plans to build new fossil gas infrastructure, which could lock in pollution over decades. That could jeopardize the goal of using 45% green power by 2030. Power: Electricity from solar panels, wind turbines The industry expects the European Union to build the infrastructure for 220 GW of solar power and 92 GW of wind power in the next four years, aided by the falling price of renewable energy. This is more than the amount expected in some scenarios that keep global warming to 1.5 C, according to the London-based climate think tank Ember, which modeled pathways to reach the target. "To get out of this crisis, we need a massive influx of homegrown, reliable renewable energy," said Harriet Fox, a solar analyst at Ember. "If the EU is serious about deploying renewable energy, there's no reason why those industry targets can't be achieved." The outlook from the wind industry is less optimistic than solar because of the long time it takes to get permits approved and wind farms built. In November, EU member states agreed to shorten the timeframes for granting permits. This means they can skip some of the paperwork to assess a project's environmental impact, speeding up the time between planning and building.  Buildings: Heating homes without burning gas The European Union also intends to renovate more buildings and run them on 49% renewable energy by 2030. In a proposal, the European Commission has argued for putting solar panels on new public and commercial buildings from 2027 and on existing ones from 2028. It wants to do the same for new residential buildings from 2030. As well as building infrastructure to make clean energy, the European Union would have to electrify activities that run on fossil fuels such as burning gas to heat homes. One of the most effective ways to do so is swapping gas boilers for electric heat pumps. Modeling from the European Commission shows that the amount of heat generated by pumps running on renewable electricity would have to roughly triple by the end of the decade. A preliminary analysis from the Regulatory Assistance Project, a global nonprofit working to decarbonize buildings, found that the pace of installations would need to almost double. While high gas prices have sent demand for heat pumps soaring, a lack of trained installers has held back the shift. Transport: Driving cars without burning petrol The European Commission intends to cut the average CO2 emissions from new cars by 55% by 2030, before hitting zero by 2035. That would be one of the easiest fixes to clean up transport, the only sector where pollution has steadily risen. Greenhouse gas emissions were 15% higher in 2021 than in 1990. Some member states, including Germany and Italy, have pushed back on the target.  Experts say the target is achievable, if unambitious. Electric vehicle sales are picking up. The share of electrics among new cars sold in the European Union jumped from 11% in 2020 to 18% in 2021.  If more car journeys were shifted to trains, buses and walking, emissions from transport could fall even faster. Agriculture: Cleaning up farms The European Union has made little progress in cleaning up farms, which are responsible for about 10% of EU greenhouse gas emissions. These come in lots of shapes and from different sources — methane from cow burps, nitrous oxide from fertilizer and both from manure. Two-thirds of the European Union's agriculture emissions come from animals. The EU plans to bring in sustainable feed additives, which can cut methane from cows, and reduce the amount of soy grown on deforested land to feed livestock. According to the European Union, the shift cannot happen without a change in people's diets.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, chaired a meeting with all major ports, Cochin shipyard Limited (CSL) and IWAI (Inland Waterways Authority of India) to review the progress on various green initiatives being implemented, as per Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 for the development of Green Ports & Green Shipping in India. A statement issued by Ministry said, "Sonowal reviewed the progress of initiatives undertaken for development of green ports planned under Maritime India Vision 2030. As part of MIV 2030, a total of 963 initiatives have been identified for implementation across major ports with an estimated investment of Rs. 6,77,720.24 crores, of which a total of 208 initiatives with an estimated investment of Rs. 44,424.47 crores have been completed in FY 2021. Further 504 initiatives with an estimated investment of Rs. 48,256.14 crores are under implementation." "A number of initiatives have been taken in India to promote green ecosystem in the maritime sector. These are in line with International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s 2030 Decarbonization strategy and the 2050 Green House Gases (GHG) strategy. Initiatives are being implemented by Major Ports of India that include areas, such as increasing share of renewable energy to more than 60 per cent across major ports by 2030, setting up of solar power plants, availing of shore power supply to vessels via berths, multi-clean fuel adoption for vehicles within the port ecosystem, gradual phasing out of diesel locomotives at ports, etc." added the ministry. The green port initiatives include acquisition of equipment for monitoring environmental pollution, acquisition of dust suppression systems, setting up of sewage/ wastewater treatment plants, setting up of garbage disposal system for ports and ships, developing shore reception facility for wastes from ships, setting up projects for energy generation from renewable energy sources, providing shore power to ships at berths, creating Oil Spill Response (Tier-1) capabilities at all ports, taking actions to improve harbour water quality, the inclusion of sustainable practices in terminal design, development and operation, increasing green cover within port premises etc. Ministry is also working on a draft of a "Green Port Policy" document to suggest a framework and guidelines for the incorporation of green initiatives in the port sector. The Policy document captures the focused areas, measured outcomes, implementation roadmap and cost recovery mechanism for the port operators and port authorities. The proposed target outcomes will help India in achieving the "Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) target, as well as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2030 target. In order to enhance the share of Green Shipping, various projects are being implemented by Cochin Shipyard Ltd., India's largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility. These include green urban mobility solutions like Hybrid Electric Ferries, autonomous Zero-emission vessels, a pilot project on Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ferry, Electric Catamaran Water Taxi, Hybrid Electric Ro-Ro, Hybrid LNG-Electric Inland Cargo Carrier, Hybrid Tugs, etc. Possibilities are also being explored for the deployment of fully electric ferries and hydrogen-fuelled ferries on Inland Waterways for the enhancement of river cruise tourism in the country. For instance, Electric Catamaran Water Taxi deployment is being considered at Varanasi and Guwahati in the first phase. Additionally, the use of Hybrid Electric Roll on -Roll off (Ro-Ro) vessels having a dual fuel system (LNG+ battery) is being considered at Guwahati for river crossings. The use of Hybrid LNG-electric Inland Cargo Carrier vessels is also being considered on NW2 and NW1. The possibility of deploying CNG vessels at Varanasi is also being explored. "The pace at which the Green initiatives are undertaken by the 12 major ports will surely bring a green revolution in the sector making the ports cleaner and greener, which is also a key component of 'Blue Economy', creating environmental benefits and balancing the investments and cash flow," added the statement. He further directed all Ports to take the Green Initiatives forward by putting dedicated proactive efforts towards the greening of the maritime sector including the finalization of the green port policy. Source: ANI

  The government of India likely to provide for targeted fiscal incentives and allocation of funds for promotion of green hydrogen in the country in Union Budget 2022-23, which is slated to be unveiled in Parliament on Tuesday. The government launched National Hydrogen Mission in 2021. Earlier this month, Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh had indicated that a green hydrogen policy will be unveiled in February which would feature many incentives to boost green hydrogen in the country. "While 2021 saw the launch of National Hydrogen Mission, it is likely that the Budget may provide for targeted fiscal incentives for R&D in green hydrogen segment, creation of domestic supply chain for hydrogen and reduce customs duties on electrolysers to boost green hydrogen production," says Venkatesh Raman Prasad, Partner, J Sagar Associates (JSA). Prasad is of the view that India's commitment at COP 26 of  achieving net zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50 per cent of energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030 shows that the government intends to focus on cleaner sources of energy. Hemant Mallya, senior programme lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) opines that green hydrogen has many industrial uses and can potentially decarbonise many hard-to-abate sectors, like the iron and steel industry. He says that an outlay of Rs 1,200 crore by 2024 in the upcoming Budget could trigger pilots in various end-use applications such as testing green hydrogen readiness of natural gas pipelines, underground hydrogen storage, and pilots for equipment such as furnaces, boilers, and process heaters. He suggests that another Rs 165 crore could support R&D, especially on catalysts and electrolyser membranes, finding substitutes for critical minerals, setting up testing labs and enforcing safety standards. These investments would help indigenize green hydrogen production and use as an industrial fuel, he opines. Davinder Sandhu, co-founder & chairman, Primus Partners says that electrolysers used to manufacture hydrogen at present are expensive and bringing down their cost will contribute to reducing  the cost of green hydrogen. This will enable the country to meet the target of establishing 10 gigawatt of domestic manufacturing capacity as well as making India a global leader in the sector, he opines. In this regard, he suggests that the government should consider a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme which can support indigenization of electrolysers and scaling up of green hydrogen production at optimized cost. Earlier this month, Union minister R K Singh had said a new green hydrogen policy will feature incentives like free power transmission for 25 years, dollar denominated bids, offer of land in renewable energy parks and land allocation near ports for creating bunkers for green hydrogen or ammonia. Source: Rediff.com

With super cyclones like Amphan in the east or Tauktae in the south, severe droughts in Maharashtra, incessant rains, and flooding in Chennai or Uttarakhand, and Delhi on a complete lockdown earlier because you couldn’t see or breathe, threats from climate change (and pollution at the local level) for India are not in the distant future. We are right in the middle of it. To make matters worse, we are dealing with an unprecedented economic crisis, partly pandemic-induced and partly pre-pandemic. Given the magnitude and severity of the crisis, we need to think out of the box. Minor tweaks won’t work anymore. What is required is to rethink the model of development itself, to chalk out a just, inclusive, and sustainable path. A start can be made in the upcoming budget. The Indian government had promised 10 per cent of the GDP as Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) package for Covid recovery. We believe if this amount is spent judiciously on what we call an Indian Green Deal (IGD), India can come out on top of the crisis and stay ahead of the climate change curve. We put forth a proposal, which can form the blueprint of a policy required for India to achieve the net zero target by 2070, as per the commitment made at COP26 in Glasgow. We pick a few sectors of the Indian economy, some of which currently have a high carbon footprint, and propose a 10-year plan to fundamentally alter this impact even as they generate jobs. The overall plan has three categories: Infrastructure development, care economy, and a green energy programme. The promised 10 per cent of the GDP should be split into three parts — 5 per cent for infrastructure development, especially rural infrastructure; 3 per cent for the care economy; and the remaining 2 per cent for green energy. It helps that the employment generating capacity of these sectors is quite high. Our calculations, based on the PLFS May 2019 report on employment, tell us that not only does the IGD absorb those who are currently unemployed, it also generates extra jobs, which can certainly absorb a significant section of disguised unemployment. To contrast the IGD with a business-as-usual scenario, let us say, if the amount committed to green energy in IGD were spent on the fossil fuel sector, it would have generated only 2.4 million jobs instead of the 8 million it generates in our proposal. So, quite contrary to the common perception, the move to a green economy is a win-win proposition both on emissions (and pollution) and employment. How would the deal impact emissions? The green energy programme would result in curbing India’s total carbon emissions by 0.8 gigatonnes by 2030 as compared to the projections based on the Stated Policies Scenario (STEP) by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Investment in this programme has two components — energy efficiency and clean renewable energy. India’s use of energy per unit of GDP (energy intensity) is substantially higher than the global average, which can be significantly reduced through the first component. As a result, India would save almost one-third of the energy it would have used in the absence of the programme. The elephant in the room, though, is how will this 10 per cent of the GDP be financed, that too for 10 years. This is indeed a huge sum, especially for a developing country. There are two ways this can be financed — a global just transition package from the greatest emitters of the world, and a tax on the Indian elite. Both, quite justifiably, put the burden of adjustment on those whose lifestyles are primarily responsible for the climate crisis. If looked at globally, India’s carbon emissions stand at 3 per cent of the cumulative global emissions as compared to the US’s 25 per cent. A just way to address this gross inequality could be for those countries that have contributed (currently or cumulatively) more emissions than the global average pay for the energy transition of those who have contributed less. The extent of the payment would depend on where a country lies on the global scale of emissions. According to our calculations, such an international global carbon tax settlement process would yield an annual sum of around $270 billion for India, a little more than what is required for IGD. If we look at this inequality nationally, the richest 10 per cent of Indians emit five times as much as the poorest. To hold the elite responsible, IGD can be made into a revenue-neutral policy where part of the expenditure is financed through an increase in taxes on luxury items, wealth and inheritance taxes, which are either low or non-existent in India. Another part can be financed by a carbon tax, which also addresses emissions but would be regressive, unlike the other taxes. To compensate for that, a carbon dividend — in the form of free electricity, public transport, and free rations — can be built into the policy proposal. The Indian Green Deal will simultaneously solve two of the most pressing challenges of today — emissions and equity. The problem lies not in the realm of ideas but the political will to deliver on them. (Words about authors: Azad teaches economics at JNU and Chakraborty is a research assistant professor at Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts, Amherst) Source: The Indian Express  

Foraying into newer areas of the sustainability business is an essential part of the business development plans of large Indian conglomerates and there is no quicker way to do that than pick up stakes in companies that are into green energy.   India’s traditional companies are now moving full scale into the renewable and alternative energy space that had been dominated by smaller players over the past decade. Companies such as government-owned NTPC and the Adani and the Tata groups restructured their businesses well in time to become major players in the green space.   At the same time, other conventional companies, such as Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which have a presence both in the energy sector as well as myriad other activities  construction, technology and retailing are tying up with new-age companies to hitch a ride to a greener path.   These tie-ups in the sustainability space range from putting up green energy plants to actual generation from renewable power and then storing and transporting it.   In the same link, there is the alternative automotive fuel space where tie-ups are largely around charging facilities or developing newer technologies such as green hydrogen and electrolysers.   On December 8, Jio-bp, for instance, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mahindra group for electric vehicles (EVs) and low-carbon solutions. The MoU also covers evaluating charging solutions by Jio-bp for Mahindra vehicles, including electric three- and four-wheelers, quadricycles and e-SCV (small commercial vehicles — sub 4 tonne).   This would include the RIL group’s captive fleets and the Mahindra group’s last-mile mobility vehicles.   Six days after the RIL-Mahindra announcement, L&T made public its partnership with Nasdaq-listed SPAC ReNew Power.   This partnership will focus on the green hydrogen business in India.   Earlier in October, RIL signed definitive agreements with Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Ltd (SPCPL), Khurshed Daruvala and Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd (SWSL) to acquire a 40 per cent stake post-money in SWSL through a series of transactions.   In March, telecom major Bharti Airtel picked up an 8.53 per cent stake in a solar power company of Avaada Energy in Maharashtra.   The stake purchase helped Bharti to source 21.32 Mw of solar power from Avaada MHBuldhana under the group-captive arrangement.   The Sterling & Wilson deal brought the construction or engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) piece into the business of Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a new group company, just as the L&T deal with ReNew brought an EPC player and generator together.   The two deals, however, are different in their structure and scope since RNESL will be investing Rs 2,850-crore worth of equity in the Shapoorji Pallonji group company, while L&T and ReNew will jointly develop, own, execute and operate green hydrogen projects in India.   RIL has also tied up with Gurugram-based electric mobility and e-charging company BluSmart for using green energy for electric mobility.   This tie-up has been done by Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML) for Jio-bp branded outlets and fuel retailing business.   Bp later (on September 30) announced an investment of $13 million in BluSmart.   For the Shapoorji Pallonji group, the tie-up might have been more out of compulsion since there is a huge debt sitting on its balance sheets, but the other deals were neither out of compulsion for the smaller partners nor did they come cheap.   In fact, there are broadly two reasons the traditional companies are picking up smaller partners. These tie-ups give them not only a foothold in the huge green energy and alternative fuel space but also help improve their ESG (environment, social and governance) scores without much ado, allowing them access to better financing options.   This holds true for corporations that do not really want to go headlong into the green power business, as purchasing a small stake, such as the Bharti-Avaada deal, helps them reduce their carbon footprint.   Then there are partnerships like that of MG Motor India, which announced its EV battery recycling collaboration with Rohan and Nitin Gupta-founded Attero.   The two partners announced the successful recycling of MG’s first lithium-ion (Li-ion) EV battery, and the metal extracts and various other commodities from the process will be used for new batteries.   The move, MG Motor India said, will augment “its initiatives to strengthen EV ecosystem, essentially making it greener and sustainable”.   According to Nitin Gupta, CEO and co-founder, Attero Recycling, their technology holds the key to help the country transition from a linear to a circular economy.   “We have the technology that enables us to extract almost 99 per cent of all metals from a Li-ion battery and we envision making India atmanirbhar (self-reliant) in precious metals such as copper, lithium and cobalt through these processes.” MG had earlier also tied up with CleanMax to supply 4.85 MW of wind-solar hybrid power to MG’s manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat.   From simple solar and wind power generation to more advanced avenues of battery storage and cloud-based EV charging solutions and hydrogen fuel, companies find there is immense scope to choose their sustainability path.   Green hydrogen, for instance, is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen in an electrolyser.   If the process uses renewable-powered electricity, it is considered green hydrogen.   The government is targeting the use of green hydrogen as an alternative in industries such as refineries, fertilisers, steel and transport.   These sectors are considered “hard-to-abate” since bringing down their carbon footprint is tedious.   Companies, countries and communities are, in fact, increasingly finding that there is little time to waste in the sustainability business, not just because extreme climate incidents are increasing and putting lives and businesses at risk but also because conventional companies can no longer afford to ignore the green path.   Foraying into newer areas of the sustainability business is, therefore, an essential part of the business development plans of large Indian conglomerates and there is no quicker way to do that than pick up stakes or make other kinds of arrangements with companies that are into green energy, the EV value chain and other alternative fuel technologies.   Source: rediff.com

Indian Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that he envisions to "create value from waste" and is planning to use green hydrogen to run buses, trucks, and cars in Indian cities. Addressing the sixth National Summit on Financial Inclusion, Gadkari said, "I have a plan to run buses, trucks and cars on green hydrogen that would be produced using sewage water and solid waste in cities." "I am trying to create value from waste," he added. The Union Minister, in an attempt to "make people believe" that vehicles can ply on hydrogen extracted from wastewater, said, "I've bought a pilot project car that would run on green hydrogen produced in an oil research institute in Faridabad. I would take a ride of the city to make people believe..." Source: ANI

The BRICS Nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are sitting for a two days summit in India on June 22-23, 2021. The summit is on Green Hydrogen initiatives.  The event offers a platform to share their respective Green Hydrogen initiatives and views on how to take it to the next level in their own countries. The online event will be held via a video conference, said an official release. The event will be anchored by India's largest power producer and one of the global energy majors, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) under Ministry of Power. The virtual summit will bring the best brains, policy makers and major stakeholders from the BRICS nations deliberating and discussing at length the future of Hydrogen in the energy mix, read the release. The representatives from each country would be sharing respective initiatives undertaken by their countries on utilization of hydrogen and their future plans. The speakers will also share the relevance of different technologies developed on hydrogen and its priorities for their country. As the world rapidly moves to decarbonise the entire energy system, hydrogen is poised to play a vital role and build on the rapid scale-up of renewable resources across the world. Hydrogen when produced by electrolysis using renewable energy is known as Green Hydrogen which has no carbon footprint. This gives Hydrogen the edge over other fuels to unlock various avenues of green usage. However, challenges lie in terms of technology, efficiency, financial viability and scaling up which the summit will aim to address. Source: ANI B.M./ Rtv