India's premier oil firm Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will set up green hydrogen plants at all its refineries as it pivots a Rs 2- lakh crore green transition plan to achieve net-zero emissions from its operations by 2046, its chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said.
Indian Oil Corp is remodelling business with an increased focus on petrochemicals to hedge volatility in the fuel business, while at the same time turning petrol pumps into energy outlets that offer Elecltric Vehicle charging points and battery swapping options besides conventional fuels as it looks to make itself future ready, he said.
The company intends to expand its refining capacity to 106.7 million tonnes per annum from 81.2 million tonnes as it sees India's oil demand climbing from 5.1 million barrels per day to 7-7.2 million bpd by 2030 and 9 million bpd by 2040. These investments cover setting up green hydrogen facilities at refineries, improving efficiency, renewable energy capacity addition and alternate fuels.
Oil will continue to be a mainstay fuel for the next few years but we are preparing for transition which will involve a combination of green hydrogen, biofuels, EVs and alternate fuels," he said. Hydrogen -- the cleanest known fuel that discharges only oxygen and water when burnt -- is being touted as the fuel of the future, but its relatively higher cost then alternate fuel currently limit its usage in industries
The company plans to use natural gas in refineries in place of liquid fuels as well as replace grey hydrogen (produced from fossil fuel) with green one that is manufactured from renewable power. It is also looking at carbon offsetting through ecosystem restoration and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), among others.
