New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS): The new and renewable energy ministry has unveiled a R&D roadmap for the "National Green Hydrogen Mission", which seeks to provide guidance for developing a vibrant research and development ecosystem which can help commercialise green hydrogen and contribute to India’s ambitious climate and energy goals.

It focusses on developing new materials, technologies, and infrastructure to improve the efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of green hydrogen production, storage, and transportation.

The roadmap was unveiled on October 7 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to commemorate the World Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, which is observed annually on October 8.

In an event organised by the ministry on Saturday, where the roadmap was released, the principal scientific advisor to the government Ajay Kumar Sood opined that green hydrogen is the Swiss knife for decarbonisation.

Speaking about the R&D roadmap, Sood said that the goal in the first phase is to focus on mission mode projects which can yield results in two to three years.

“The R&D budget announced in this mission is Rs 400 crores. If we are able to demonstrate that this R&D can make a difference at the ground level, then I am confident that more will come.

“Our first priority should be mission-mode projects which will yield results in two to three years. Then we can address grand challenges which will be rather long-term and also blue sky projects, which will take disruptive pathways.”

New and renewable energy secretary Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, said that India has entered the green hydrogen space at the right time and that the country is poised to become one of the leaders in the green hydrogen sector.

He said that the R&D roadmap aims to leverage research to ensure that India is at the cutting edge of the sector in the world.