In a major breakthrough for India’s clean energy ambitions, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed an indigenous technology capable of producing 99% pure green hydrogen from agricultural waste. The system delivers up to 5 kilograms of hydrogen per hour, offering a transformative pathway for decarbonising India’s hydrogen economy using widely available biomass feedstock.

The innovation comes at a critical time, as India currently consumes nearly 50 lakh tonnes of hydrogen annually, most of which is produced through fossil fuel-based steam methane reforming. With rising demand from sectors such as steel, fertilisers, and transportation, replacing grey hydrogen with green alternatives remains a central challenge—one that the IISc breakthrough may now help overcome.

Developed under the leadership of Professor S. Dasappa, Chair of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research and Professor at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, the technology employs a two-stage biomass-to-hydrogen reactor system. In the first stage, agricultural waste is converted into syngas—a hydrogen-rich fuel—using oxygen and steam in a specially designed reactor. In the second stage, an in-house low-pressure gas separation unit isolates high-purity hydrogen from the syngas stream.

Source:

https://www.energywatch.in/renewable-energy/green-hydrogen/india-develops-world-leading-carbon-negative-green-hydrogen-tech-that-uses-agricultural-waste?