INDIA: HSBC India has announced strategic partnerships with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF) to promote innovation in green hydrogen. The partnerships, with a total grant support of INR 15 crores (~USD 2 mn), will focus on developing breakthrough technologies and solutions that address key challenges in green hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization. The aim is to prioritize green hydrogen as a strategic alternate fuel, build a robust green hydrogen economy, and achieve the government’s vision of an energy-independent nation.
The partnerships were announced by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister of Finance, along with the leadership teams from HSBC, IIT Bombay, and SSEF.
Speaking at the launch, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister of Finance said, “Our Government is focused on driving green growth through a range of green reforms. This will provide a roadmap towards reducing carbon intensity in the economy and enable the creation of green job opportunities. Green hydrogen has a pivotal role to play as we counter climate change and work towards enabling a low-carbon and self-reliant economy. We’re aiming to make India a global hub for the production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen. I welcome the efforts and partnership of HSBC India, IIT Bombay, and SSEF in addressing the challenges in this segment and working on solutions to make green hydrogen scalable and commercially feasible.”.
Mark Tucker, Group Chairman, HSBC, said, “We’re committed to helping deliver a net zero global economy by 2050 or earlier in line with the Paris Agreement goals. We are providing finance to accelerate climate change solutions and building partnerships to drive technological breakthroughs, foster collaboration, and support innovation towards enabling a green hydrogen economy. The biggest impact we can make is to reduce the emissions we finance, which means supporting our clients on their transition journeys.”
HSBC’s initiative with IIT Bombay will encourage researchers, scientists, and students across IITs to develop breakthrough technologies and solutions that address key challenges in green hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization. As part of this program, IIT Bombay will invite project proposals, which will be evaluated by a steering committee composed of representatives from HSBC India, professors, and faculty members from multi-disciplinary areas. The committee will select the top three submissions, which could also be incubated at IIT Bombay.
HSBC’s initiative with SSEF will focus on geospatial analysis of industrial clusters in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh that have the potential to produce and use green hydrogen. The project aims to conduct research on policy, technological, and financial solutions that will be relevant to the real-world application of green hydrogen in industrial facilities across key states. An assessment of applicable hydrogen production routes for various applications in the shortlisted clusters, skill building, and worker transition, will be crucial areas of this research.
HSBC India CEO, Hitendra Dave, said that sustainability is a key element of their business, operations, and community investments. They are delighted to work at the grassroots level as well as with institutions like IIT Bombay and SSEF to foster ideas that will make green hydrogen scalable and commercially feasible. The partnerships will accelerate the development and deployment of green hydrogen technologies and drive the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system.
In conclusion, HSBC India’s strategic partnerships with IIT Bombay and SSEF will help prioritize green hydrogen as a strategic alternative fuel, build a robust green hydrogen economy, and achieve the government’s vision of an energy-independent nation. The partnerships will boost the government’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and accelerate the development and deployment of green hydrogen technologies.
Hitendra Dave, CEO, of HSBC India, said, “Sustainability is a key element of our business, operations, and community investments. We’re delighted to work at the grassroots level as well as with institutions like IIT Bombay and SSEF to foster ideas that will make green hydrogen scalable and commercially feasible. We believe we have a crucial role to play in accelerating the development and deployment of green hydrogen technologies and driving the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system.”
Jamshyd Godrej, Chairperson of the Board, of Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, said, “Shakti is committed to supporting India’s ambition of becoming a global leader in green hydrogen. We provide cutting-edge research on technology, policy, and investments related to scaling green hydrogen production and generating demand by demonstrating use cases and designing business models. Green hydrogen will be critical to achieving India’s twin objectives of net zero by 2070 and energy independence by 2047.”
Speaking about the initiative, Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, of IIT Bombay, said, “Moving towards sustainable and clean sources of energy is a crucial step in the global fight against climate change. Green Hydrogen, with its applications across industries including transportation, will occupy a vital space in global energy. I am confident that this partnership between IIT Bombay, HSBC, and the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation will accelerate research in this space and facilitate India’s transition towards wide-scale adoption of green hydrogen.”
