Essar to invest US$ 3.6 billion (Rs. 30,000 crore) in green hydrogen plant in Gujarat over 4 years

Essar Group plans to invest US$ 3.6 billion (Rs. 30,000 crore) over the next four years to establish a green hydrogen plant in Jamnagar, Gujarat, focusing on clean energy as a key growth area. Director of Essar Capital Mr. Prashant Ruia, mentioned that the group aims to decarbonize its UK oil refinery, build a green steel plant in Saudi Arabia, and develop an LNG and electric ecosystem for long-haul heavy trucks. Essar is also exploring entry into mining critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, and wind-turbine magnets.

Essar Future Energy intends to develop 1 gigawatt of hydrogen capacity and produce 1 million tonnes of green molecules per year in Jamnagar. The investment in the green hydrogen project will involve using 4.5 GW of renewable energy from Essar Renewables to produce hydrogen and oxygen by splitting water molecules. Hydrogen, a clean energy source, will be used for vehicles, electricity generation, industry, and heating.

Mr. Ruia mentioned that instead of producing green ammonia, which is costly to convert back to hydrogen, Essar aims to create green molecules directly from hydrogen for easier transport, mainly in the biofuels sector. After becoming debt-free in 2022 by selling some infrastructure assets, Essar plans to expand its coal-based electricity generation capacity while also building a renewable energy platform.

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