Adani-Total Gas launches green hydrogen blending pilot in Ahmedabad

New Delhi: Adani Total Gas Ltd, the city gas joint venture of billionaire Gautam Adani's group and French energy giant TotalEnergies, has started blending green hydrogen in natural gas they sell to households for cooking purposes and industries as fuel in Ahmedabad.

The percentage of green hydrogen, produced by splitting water using renewable electricity, to be blended in gas will gradually be increased to 8 per cent, the company said in a statement.

"As part of the project, ATGL will employ the latest technologies to blend green hydrogen (GH2) with natural gas for over 4,000 residential and commercial customers at Ahmedabad, Gujarat," it said.

GH2 is produced using electrolysis of water with electricity generated by renewable energy. Hydrogen blending is less carbon intensive than burning gas but has the same heating capabilities.

The pilot project is expected to be commissioned by Q1 of fiscal year 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) and "the percentage of green hydrogen will be gradually increased in the blend to up to 8 per cent or more, depending on regulatory approvals," the statement said.

"After successfully completing the pilot, hydrogen blended fuel will be supplied stepwise to larger parts of the city and other license areas of AGTL," it said. "As per studies, an up to 8 per cent hydrogen blend can reduce emission by up to 4 per cent." ATGL has license to retail CNG to automobiles and piped gas to household kitchens and industries in 38 geographical areas (GAs).

It has full-fledged city gas distribution networks in Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat, Faridabad in Haryana and Khurja in Uttar Pradesh.

In addition, the development of Allahabad, Chandigarh, Ernakulam, Panipat, Daman, Dharwad, and Udhamsingh Nagar gas distribution is awarded to a consortium of Adani Total Gas Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

The company said with this pilot, ATGL would like to partner with various stakeholders including regulatory authorities to share its firsthand learning and develop an ecosystem about hydrogen blending in city gas distribution in India.

This will also help in gaining and sharing knowledge on the operational aspects and the compatibility of blended fuel on existing infrastructure.

Suresh P Manglani, Executive Director & CEO of ATGL, said, "We are fully committed towards building an environmentally sustainable operation and this project represents our ongoing dedication towards national infrastructure building for India to become energy independent by 2047.

"This project will reduce our carbon footprint and by investing in such innovative projects, we are actively contributing to the evolution of the industry and driving progress in sustainable energy solutions." ATGL's 38 GAs cover 8 per cent of India's population. Of the 38 GAs, 19 are managed by ATGL and the rest by Indian Oil-Adani Gas Private Limited (IOAGPL), a 50:50 joint venture between Adani Total Gas Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

ATGL has formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Adani TotalEnergies E-Mobility Ltd (ATEEL) and Adani TotalEnergies Biomass Ltd (ATEBL), for its e-mobility and biomass businesses respectively.