NTPC in association with Gujarat Gas is planning an ambitious project to blend hydrogen with piped natural gas (PNG).
To begin with, NTPC aims to reach out to its 200-home housing colony at Kawas near Surat, Gujarat, by using about 100 cm/d of PNG where it will initially blend hydrogen to the extent of five percent for domestic use, to be later ramped up to 20 percent.
The residential township project will be the first-of-its-kind in the country where the company plans to blend green hydrogen in the city gas distribution (CGD) network. Once this is successful, it plans to roll it out in various cities and towns of India with its CGD partner.
Similar pilot projects have been carried out in countries like Australia and UK where they have been successful and are now awaiting commercial rollout.
NTPC floated an expression of interest (EoI) for Indian and global companies to set up the pilot project on green hydrogen blending with natural gas in the CGD, which received an overwhelming response.
Through the EoI process, NTPC aims to identify companies capable of providing hydrogen blending solutions for the pilot project of 100 cm/d gas. Once the EoI process is over, NTPC will float a tender in the next two months or so.
The successful bidder will have to design a blending system, select the technology for electrolyser and hydrogen storage system.
The company aims to roll out the pilot project by the end of FY22.