Essar Group plans to invest Rs 30,000 crore over the next four years in setting up a green hydrogen plant at Jamnagar in Gujarat as the metals-to-infrastructure conglomerate eyes clean energy as a key pillar for its new phase of growth.
The conglomerate is looking to decarbonise its oil refinery in the UK, construct a green steel plant in Saudi Arabia, and build an LNG and electric ecosystem to decarbonise long-haul heavy trucks, Prashant Ruia, director of Essar Capital, which manages the group’s portfolio of investments, said.
It is also considering an entry into mining of critical minerals, mainly used in electric vehicle batteries, solar panels and wind-turbine magnets.
Essar Future Energy plans to develop 1 gigawatt of hydrogen capacity along with associated green molecules capacity of 1 million tonne per annum in Jamnagar over the next four years, he said in an interview with PTI.
“We are going to invest around Rs 30,000 crore (in the green hydrogen project in Jamnagar),” he said.
Essar will use 4.5 GW of renewable energy by a sister concern Essar Renewables to split water molecules to produce hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen, the cleanest known source of energy in the world, so produced can be used to power vehicles, generate electricity, power industry and heat homes and businesses.
Hydrogen, which on burning produces only water, however cannot be shipped and is instead used to make green ammonia which can be easily transported.
“The idea is to create green molecules that can be transported directly rather than green ammonia. Because you carry green ammonia and then you convert it into hydrogen. That cost is very high. So we are trying to build a complex which can make green molecules from hydrogen and largely in the biofuels space and export that,” Ruia said.
The conglomerate, which turned debt-free in 2022 after selling some infrastructure assets, will expand its capacity to generate electricity from coal alongside building a renewable energy platform.
