Vijayawada: The second day of the Green Hydrogen Summit at SRM University–AP in Amaravati featured a series of plenary sessions, industry–academia conclaves, and strategic discussions involving industry leaders, scientists, academicians, and policymakers. These discussions focused on innovations in technology, infrastructure requirements, offtaker identification, funding avenues, and policy frameworks to advance India’s green hydrogen ambitions.
Prof. D. Narayana Rao, Executive Director (Research), SRM Group of Institutions, said the summit had created a valuable platform for industry–academia collaboration. He added that, as per the directive of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, SRM–AP in collaboration with NREDCAP will organise the Hydrogen Summit annually to review Andhra Pradesh’s progress in its green hydrogen journey.
Dr R. Vijay, Director at ARCI, outlined the benefits of using metallic bipolar plates and the need to establish electrolyser manufacturing units for large-scale hydrogen production. Ramesh Guduru, Associate Professor at PDEU, and Harish Jayaram of Hygenco Green Energies, showcased the current status of hydrogen adoption and the hurdles industries face, including appropriate use case selection, long project tenures for cost-efficiency, and the importance of storage facilities and seaport access.
The two-day summit highlighted both the promise and the practical challenges of hydrogen production. While scientists and academicians discussed the positives, industry experts flagged several hurdles. Karthikeya A. from APEDB pointed out the lack of clarity around who the actual offtakers are, even as large-scale hydrogen generation is pursued in the name of sustainability.
Despite the concerns raised, there was a consensus that hydrogen remains a cleaner and safer alternative to fossil fuels, especially given India’s economic scale and sustainability goals.
