The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued proposals to establish Centers of Excellence (CoEs) under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM)’s Research and Development (R&D) programme, with a submission deadline of December 19, 2024. Selected entities will receive financial support covering up to 50 per cent of the project cost to promote advancements in green hydrogen production, storage, and utilisation. These centers aim to support research, skill development, and industry collaboration within a green hydrogen ecosystem. They will serve as accelerators for scaling up technologies that have achieved a certain development stage.
Eligible applicants include academic institutions, R&D centers, government bodies, public sector undertakings, and private research institutions, and industries. Intellectual property rights generated in accordance with the R&D provisions by the CoEs, will remain with the grantee institutions. Launched in 2023 with a budget of Rs 197.44 billion, NGHM has earmarked Rs 4 billion for research activities.
In October 2024, the MNRE approved three pilot projects to integrate hydrogen in steel production, with financial support of Rs 3.47 billion. These projects are expected to be operational within three years.
