India’s first multipurpose Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at Jhakri

Shimla, April 28

In a significant milestone, the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) has inaugurated India’s first multi-purpose (Combined Heat & Power) Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at 1500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station (NJHPS) in Jhakri, Shimla. The state-of-the-art Green Hydrogen Pilot Project was inaugurated by SJVN Chairman and Managing Director Geeta Kapur.

The project is the nation’s first multi-purpose green hydrogen generation plant with a capability to cater to the High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) coating facility of the NJHPS for meeting its combustion fuel requirements in addition to generating electricity through its 25-kW capacity fuel cell.

The project is set to produce hydrogen gas by splitting hydrogen and oxygen from water with the help of an alkaline electrolyser of 20 Nm3/hr capacity by utilising renewable energy supplied from the 1.31-MW solar power plant of the SJVN located in Wadhal, Himachal Pradesh.

The project will produce 14 kg of green hydrogen daily during eight hours of operation, which will be stored in six storage tanks. The green hydrogen will be utilised for the HVOF Coating of turbine underwater parts in addition to generating electricity through its 25-kW capacity fuel cell.

“Aligned with the National Green Hydrogen Mission of the Government of India, SJVN’’s Green Hydrogen Pilot Project is poised to accelerate the development of green hydrogen production infrastructure in the power sector, establishing green hydrogen as a clean energy source.” said Kapur.

During her visit, Geeta Kapur also inaugurated the first of a kind centralised operation of 1500-MW NJHPS and 412-MW Rampur Hydro Power Station (Rampur HPS) by remotely operating unit-2 of RHPS from the NJHPS Control Room at Jhakri, Himachal Pradesh. Rampur HPS is being successfully operated on tandem operating system with the NJHPS.

Kapur commended dedicated efforts of the NJHPS, Rampur HPS and electrical design team at corporate headquarters for this historical achievement and urged the employees to continue working diligently towards fully operating the entire power station from the NJHPS.