Representational image by KWON JUNHO on Unsplash
BAGLUNG: Nepal has successfully tested a new technology to produce green hydrogen gas for cooking for the first time, marking a major step toward alternative clean energy development in the country.
The pilot project, launched three years ago in Badigad Rural Municipality, has now advanced from experimental production to filling cylinders with hydrogen gas and using them in cooking stoves.
According to Mohandas Manandhar, the project demonstrated that cooking with hydrogen gas produced from electricity and water is practical and relatively simple.
The initiative is being carried out in collaboration with several universities and scientific institutions, including Tribhuvan University.
Manandhar said future phases of the project would focus on developing safe distribution systems and expanding the commercial use of hydrogen gas in Nepal.
The hydrogen is being produced using electricity generated from the Giringdikhola small hydropower project located in Badigad Rural Municipality-2. The project utilizes surplus electricity from the hydropower plant, established in 2066 BS, that would otherwise go to waste.
Over the past three years, researchers working with seven technical institutions have successfully filled eight cylinders with green hydrogen gas.
Following a successful preliminary test conducted a year ago, the project has now begun safely filling cylinders for practical use.
According to Manandhar, the technology works by separating oxygen from water through an electrolysis process and storing the extracted hydrogen gas in cylinders.
He said the hydrogen gas can be easily used in cooking stoves as required, opening the possibility for cleaner and more sustainable household energy use in the future.
