Accelera and GAIL Join Forces to Boost Green Hydrogen
Accelera™ by Cummins, the clean energy division of Cummins Inc. [NYSE: CMI], has teamed up with GAIL (India) Limited, a leading public sector enterprise and major player in India’s natural gas sector, to drive the development of green hydrogen and other clean technologies in India. The partnership, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), combines Accelera’s cutting-edge hydrogen production technology with GAIL’s extensive natural gas infrastructure to explore potential in hydrogen generation, blending, transport, and storage. The collaboration aims to assess and develop projects across a range of industries, including transportation, energy, and steel. “Partnering with GAIL highlights the transformative potential of green hydrogen and the versatility of large-scale electrolysis,” said Alex Savelli, Global Commercial Leader – Electrolyzers at Accelera. “By integrating our advanced electrolyzer technology with GAIL’s broad energy infrastructure, we are well-placed to accelerate the widespread use of green hydrogen in India.”
India launches first pilot project for hydrogen-fueled vehicles
The Indian government launched on Tuesday the first of its pilot projects to operate hydrogen-powered buses and trucks across the country under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Introduced in 2023, with an allocated fund of $2.4 billion, the green hydrogen mission aims to promote the production and use of green hydrogen, which is seen as a critical part of India’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions and achieve its climate goals. It seeks to make India a global hub for the production of green hydrogen, which all over the world is emerging as a future alternative to fossil fuels. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said in a statement that it had approved five pilot projects, comprising a total of 37 buses and trucks and nine hydrogen refueling stations. The vehicles will operate on 10 different routes across the country, connecting major cities and regions, including greater Noida, Delhi, and Agra — home to India’s top monument and tourist site, the Taj Mahal — in the north, parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states in eastern India along the Bay of Bengal coast, several cities in Gujarat state and the financial hub of Mumbai along the western coast, and Kochi in the southwest. “The vehicles that will be deployed for the trial include 15 hydrogen fuel cell-based vehicles and 22 hydrogen internal combustion engine-based vehicles,” the ministry said. “The total financial support for selected projects made available will be around Rs. 2.08 billion ($24 million) from the government of India. These pilot projects are likely to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months, paving the way to the scale up of such technologies in India.”
Natural gas import bill rises 17% to $12.9-billion in April-January
India’s natural gas import bill surged by 17.2% to $12.9 billion during April–January of the current fiscal, compared with $11.0 billion in the same period last year, driven by rising consumption, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). In January, the import bill increased by approximately 8.3% to $1.3 billion, compared to January 2024. The country imported 31,347 million standard cubic meters (mmscm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the first ten months of FY25, reflecting a 21% increase over the corresponding period of FY24. Analysts attributed this growth to a combination of rising demand and stabilised global natural gas prices, which had previously surged to record highs in FY23. India’s natural gas consumption rose by 10% to 61,282 mmscm, driven by higher demand from the city gas distribution (CGD), fertiliser, and power sectors. This pushed the country’s reliance on imported gas to 51.2%, up from 46.5% in the same period last fiscal. Despite the rise in imports, domestic natural gas production showed only a marginal increase of 2.6% during April–January. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) produced 15,763 mmscm of natural gas during this period, a decline from 16,189 mmscm in the same period last year. Production remained below targets, highlighting the widening gap between demand and domestic supply. India’s LNG imports are expected to moderate in 2025, with growth projected to slow to 10%, compared to 21% in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This slowdown is attributed to tempered demand growth and continued global competition for LNG cargoes.