Production

Private developer to build $2.8bn, 1.8GW green hydrogen and ammonia project in northern India

Rajasthan facility could produce 365,000 tonnes of renewable H2 and NH3 per year — yet it is far from India’s biggest planned green H2 project

The Kotah Garh city palace in Kota, Rajasthan, the planned location for the project.
The Kotah Garh city palace in Kota, Rajasthan, the planned location for the project.Photo: iStock

Indian renewables producer Jakson Green says it will build a $2.8bn, 1.8GW green ammonia and hydrogen project in northern India by 2028, along with new renewable energy to power it.

The company — part of the energy- and infrastructure-focused Jakson Group headquartered near New Delhi — aims to produce 15,000 tonnes of green ammonia by 2025 in a first phase in 2023, with a second phase of 100,000 tonnes of NH3, and a final phase in 2028 that would produce 125,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and 125,000 tonnes of ammonia.

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Ammonia is produced by combining hydrogen and nitrogen from the air using the century-old Haber-Bosch process.
The project would be powered by “a mix of solar, wind and storage, if possible”, and an electrolyser capacity of roughly 1.8GW across the three phases, a spokesperson for the Jakson Group tells Hydrogen Insight.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed with the state government of Rajasthan, which has promised to “facilitate Jakson Green in obtaining necessary registrations, approvals, clearances, and provide incentives, among others”.

While Jakson Green plans to complete the first phase next year, it has not yet secured financing, the spokesperson explains.

“We are in active discussions with investment partners for the financing, including but not limited to banks; this is work in progress at the moment”, she says.

Jakson Group currently generates more than 360GWh of renewable energy a year, and also manufactures solar modules, battery storage systems, and diesel and gas generators.

Its project in the city of Kota, Rajasthan, is one of several large green hydrogen projects announced in India this year, but is nevertheless dwarfed by gigawatt-scale projects planned in southern parts of the country.

This past summer, Indian solar developer ACME Group announced two gigantic projects in southern states of India — a $6.7bn facility in the state of Karnataka that would deliver 1.2 million tonnes of green hydrogen and ammonia a year, and a $6.7bn project in Tamil Nadu that would produce 1.1 million tonnes of green ammonia.
Shortly after, a $6bn, 1.3GW green ammonia project was agreed between Indian energy giants Greenko, one of the world’s largest renewables developers, and the Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
India’s government, which is targeting five million tonnes of green hydrogen production by 2030, has said it will waive grid fees for green H2 producers, which could reduce costs by as much as 50%, according to one senior Indian oil company executive.
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IndiaJakson GreenAsia-PacificAmmoniaGreen H2
Published 28 October 2022, 13:17Updated 28 October 2022, 13:17