Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday unveiled HSBC India’s strategic partnerships to enable innovation in green hydrogen, partnering with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), the bank said in a statement.

“These two partnerships, with total grant support of Rs 15 crore or about $ 2 million will focus on innovation projects that will help prioritize green hydrogen as a strategic alternate fuel, help in building a robust, green hydrogen economy, and achieve the government’s vision of an energy-independent nation,” said a statement.  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is focused on driving growth through a range of green reforms. “This will provide a roadmap towards reducing carbon intensity in the economy and enable the creation of green job opportunities. Green hydrogen has a pivotal role to play as we counter climate change and work towards enabling a low-carbon and self-reliant economy," said Sitharaman.

“We’re aiming to make India a global hub for production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen,” she further said.  

According to the statement, the partnerships will help boost the government’s National Green Hydrogen Mission. The National Hydrogen Energy Mission, announced in the union budget 2021-22, is a step towards a greener future that will lay down the roadmap for tapping alternative sources of energy in India.

According to the Group Chairman of HSBC, Mark Tucker, HSBC is dedicated to achieving the Paris Agreement's goals of a net-zero global economy by 2050 or earlier.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, “We’re committed to helping deliver a net zero global economy by 2050 or earlier in line with the Paris Agreement goals. We are providing finance to accelerate climate change solutions and building partnerships to drive technological breakthroughs, foster collaboration, and support innovation towards enabling a green hydrogen economy.”

The collaboration with IIT Bombay is anticipated to support the development of ground-breaking technologies and solutions that solve significant issues in the production, storage, transportation, and utilization of green hydrogen by researchers, scientists, and students at all IITs.

“As part of the programme, IIT Bombay will invite project proposals, which will be evaluated by a steering committee composed of representatives from HSBC India, professors, and faculty members from multi-disciplinary areas,” said the release. 

The committee will choose the top three proposals; the shortlisted submissions may also be incubated at IIT Bombay, depending on the committee's evaluation, the project's feasibility, and its level of commercial readiness. 

The partnership with Shakti will, however, concentrate on geospatial analysis of industrial clusters in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh that have the capacity to produce and utilise green hydrogen.

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