Greenko lowest bidder for first green hydrogen tender by oil refinery

Numaligarh Refinery is setting up a plant with a capacity of 300 kg per hour

The first green hydrogen manufacturing project by an oil refinery in the country is likely to be concluded, two years after it was floated by Numaligarh Refinery for producing green hydrogen of capacity 300 Kg per hour (2.4 KTPA).

Business Standard has learnt that Hyderabad-based Greenko ZeroC (GZC) has emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for design, engineering, supply, installation, and commissioning of a water electrolyser system for manufacturing green hydrogen.

Market sources said GZC placed a bid of Rs 151 crore, which includes setting up an electrolyser and auxiliary system including power transmission, and annual maintenance. The other bidders in the race were manufacturing major L&T and an oil sector engineering company HAL Offshore.

Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan, managing director, Numaligarh Refinery, confirmed the bidding but did not comment on the outcome. “We have not yet awarded the bids. It is in the evaluation stage and we expect it to be finalised within two weeks,” said Phukan.

Immediate comment from GZC was not available. Sources said based on the bid placed by GZC, the electrolyser cost comes around to Rs 893 per Kw.

It was in April 2022 that the Numaligarh Refinery had floated a tender for supply of a 20-Mw electrolyser for setting up its green hydrogen unit. “This is going to be a 3,000-tonne-per-annum (TPA) plant and our current production from the grey hydrogen plant is 48,000 TPA,” Phukan added. The company is targeting to complete its green hydrogen plant by the end of 2024.

The decision to come out with a green hydrogen unit came after state-run refineries in the country started floating tenders for this after the government brought the Green Hydrogen Consumption Obligation (GHCO) in fertiliser production and the petroleum refining sector.

Though the first mandate in May 2021 was for a 10 per cent obligation till 2030, it was later revised to 50 per cent by 2029-30 and to 70 per cent by 2034-35, in January 2022. The current electrolyser shall be based on Alkaline Water Electrolyser (AEL), or Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) or Proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology.  The required green power for the project shall be purchased through a power purchase agreement with state distribution companies.

“We will have to also source the electricity; it is something that the grid should support. Huge amount of electricity goes into production of “green hydrogen. So, everyone will make such humble beginnings like us, “he added.

Numaligarh Refinery was established as a company in April 1993 in accordance with the provisions made in the historic Assam Accord signed in August 1985. The company is in the process of expanding its capacity from 3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 9 mtpa at a cost of Rs 23,000 crore.

GZC is a subsidiary of Greenko Group which has signed partnership with John Cockerill, a Belgium-based designer and manufacturer of high-capacity alkaline electrolyzers to explore green hydrogen manufacturing possibilities in India.

Towards clean energy

The Numaligarh Refinery project includes design, engineering, supply, installation, and commissioning of a water electrolyser system for manufacturing green hydrogen

Bidders

L1: GreenkoZeroC Rs 151 crore

L2: HAL Offshore: Rs 198 cr

L3: L&T: Rs 381 crore