Officials from Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) announced the inauguration of India’s initial multi-purpose green hydrogen pilot project at the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station (NJHPS) in Jhakri, Himachal Pradesh, on Wednesday.
Geeta Kapur, Chairman and Managing Director of SJVN, launched a green hydrogen pilot project featuring a 20Nm3/hr electrolyzer and a 25kW fuel cell capacity. This project is the nation’s premier multi-purpose green hydrogen generation facility, capable of serving the high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) coating needs of NJHPS while also producing electricity using its 25kW fuel cell.
The project will utilize renewable energy from SJVN’s 1.31 MW solar power plant in Wadhal, Himachal Pradesh, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using a 20Nm3/hr alkaline electrolyzer.
During eight hours of operation daily, the pilot project aims to produce 14 Kg of green hydrogen, which will be stored in six storage tanks. This hydrogen will be used for HVOF coating of turbine underwater parts and to generate electricity through its 25kW fuel cell.
Geeta Kapur highlighted that SJVN’s Green Hydrogen Pilot Project aligns with India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, contributing to the development of green hydrogen infrastructure within the power sector and establishing green hydrogen as a clean energy source.
Kapur also inaugurated the centralized operation of the 1,500 MW NJHPS and the 412 MW Rampur Hydro Power Station (RHPS) by remotely operating Unit-2 of RHPS from the NJHPS control room in Jhakri, marking a first-of-its-kind achievement.
