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THE WINDS OF CHANGE: GREEN HYDROGEN IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
DEEPAK MAHURKAR PARTNER PWC INDIA
NIKHIL KALANE
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT PWC INDIA
T
he previous few decades have witnessed an ever-increasing drive towards promoting sustainable energy sources to protect the environment, ensure supply security and promote energy independence.
Corporates, nations, and international agencies across the world are driving initiatives committed to Paris Agreement on Climate Change and COP 26 eliminating net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mid-century. While India aims to become a net zero nation by 2070, EU and China aim to reach net zero by 2050 and 2060 respectively. To achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, eight times increase in global decarbonization rate is required.1 This trend is affecting the chemical industry due to its energy intensive nature and dependence on hydrocarbons as major feedstock contributing to the GHG emissions. At the same time, customers and end-consumers are demanding suppliers to ensure that their products and services do not add to the problem. IEA points out that the technologies for achieving 75% of the required emissions cuts by 2050 are not commercially available today.2 This challenge calls for new strategies & instruments and a need for a root-and-branch transformation. At the same time, it also opens a set of opportunities for the chemical sector to position itself as a key partner in the sustainability-driven transformations of its customers’ industries. Chemical companies that prepare early to comply with rigorous environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards will have an advantage in the long term. This can only be achieved by unleashing far-reaching innovation within the chemical industry and its value chain, and by implementing ESG-driven innovation strategies. One such strategy is to utilize Hydrogen for
