Pudimadaka: First phase of Rs 1.1L Cr 'Green Hydrogen Hub' to complete by 2026

Visakhapatnam: The first phase of the Green Energy Park Project of National Thermal Power Corporation will be completed by end of 2026.

The total project is estimated to cost Rs 1.1 lakh crore. The project will be set up at Pudimadaka in Anakapalli district, about 40 km from Visakhapatnam.

Talking to the reporters in Visakhapatnam, Sanjay Kumar Sinha, GCM (Business Unit Head) of NTPC, Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station, said that NTPC is expected to spend Rs 1.1 lakh crore in a phased manner to set up Green Hydrogen Hub.

The park will come up at Pudimadaka, where the AP Industrial Corporation (APIC) had earlier allotted 1,200 acres of land to NTPC. The green energy park project will be completed by 2030, he added.

The NTPC signed an MoU with the AP government at the Global Investors Summit held in the first week of this month.

Earlier, the project was shelved in 2018 as the union government had decided to reduce coal imports. The green energy project has been found viable following a visit by top officials from Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), the green energy arm of Fortescue Group of Australia, to Pudimadaka in September 2022. The Australian firm specializes in the production of green hydrogen with 100 percent renewable sources and operates in over 25 countries.

The NTPC with SMEC has conceptualized the creation of a Green Hydrogen Hub at Pudimadaka, which would develop an ecosystem for hydrogen energy. It includes the production of hydrogen-related components and green hydrogen. The project is divided into an Industrial area and a Hydrogen area.

The industrial area covers 600 acres and will feature Pre-Engineered Buildings/Sheds with solar rooftops, industrial spaces, and a central business district. It will also host manufacturing facilities for new energy technologies, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells, batteries, solar wafers, solar modules, wind turbine equipment, and carbon capture systems.

The hydrogen area covers 600 acres and will be home to one of India's largest green hydrogen production facilities with a capacity of 1,500 TPD. This facility will be operated in collaboration with other global companies and will produce green hydrogen/ derivatives including 1300 TPD of green ammonia and 1,200 TPD of green methanol, primarily for the South Asian export market.