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Powered by India's accelerating growth, the country is looking to bolster its sustainable energy supplies with investments in biofuels and green hydrogen

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As India's growth accelerates over the coming decades, the demand for energy will continue to rise. Therefore, Delhi needs to pursue all possible sources to ensure energy security and access. In addition to solar and wind, which tend to dominate headlines, biofuels such as compressed biogas and treated biomass through mild pyrolysis (also knows as torrefaction), waste-to-energy, green hydrogen (enabling India to reduce the intermittency issues related to solar and wind) and even nuclear are enabling pathways in the country's energy transition. While the need for energy will rise, it is important to reduce the energy intensity per unit of GDP to ensure a greener future. 

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India is developing a growing waste-to-energy (WTE) programme. Anyone arriving in Delhi, particularly after the harvest from October onwards, would immediately find their throats itching from the smoke generated by burning stubble in the surrounding countryside that contributes to making the city among the worst in the world when it comes to air pollution. But this also represents an opportunity to as India generates vast amounts of such agricultural waste, creating the ability for WTE generation in the form of biogas, ethanol, biomass pellets and biodiesel.

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Brazil has shown the potential of biofuels with its focus on ethanol production, which is blended with gasoline for vehicles. The Indian government has created a number of initiatives to promote WTE. In 2018, it announced the SATAT - sustainable alternatives to affordable transportation - initiative to mobilise entrepreneurs to use agricultural waste to produce compressed biogas that has similar fuel characteristics to natural gas. A number of plants using rice husk and sugar cane residue (known as pressmud) have been set up already. A lot more are expected in the coming years.

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At Peak, we have partnered with VA Tech Wabag to develop 100 Bio-CNG plants utilising the biogas generated from sewage treatment facilities, turning waste into fuel for transport and industry. Biofuels allow India to achieve energy security while preventing the straw burning that creates  severe air pollution. For India, supporting biofuels as part of an overall energy mix clearly makes sense, even though it is unlikely to emulate Brazil in devoting large amounts of agricultural land to grow crops such as sugar cane specifically for fuel. ​

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Nuclear Power will play  an increasing role in India as it offers a low-carbon solution for energy, albeit with the associated risks. Just 33 tonnes of uranium can generate as much power as approximately 3.2m tonnes of coal. If safety aspects can be managed, this presents a greener pathway compared with burning fossil fuels, which will continue to be an integral of the country's energy mix. 

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Nuclear Reactors

India currently generates approximately 8.18GW of electricity from its fleet of 24 nuclear reactors and aims to nearly triple this capacity by 2031, reflecting a significant commitment to expanding nuclear energy's role in its energy mix. Small modular reactors (SMRs), notably the indigenous Bharat Small Reactors, have emerged as a promising technology due to their rapid deployment capabilities and suitability for both centralised grid integration and remote, off-grid locations. 

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The Indian government agencies are also swiftly progressing toward piloting thorium-based nuclear technologies. These have the advantage over uranium and plutonium reactors in that there is considerably reduced nuclear waste. Thorium itself is much more abundant than uranium, and while India has limited supplies of thorium - the beach sands of Kerala and Odisha have rich reserves of monazite, which is 8-10% thorium, according to the government of India. Tourists sunning themselves in some of the fabulous beaches of Kerala may not realise what lies beneath them. 

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India aims to strategically leverage its abundant thorium reserves to bolster energy security, achieve deeper decarbonisation and support sustainable economic development. A US startup, Clean Core Thorium Energy, is developing a patented blend of thorium and HALEU designed to be seamlessly deployed in existing reactors. They have signed strategic partnerships with the National Thermal Power Corporation to advance this technology. 

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Hydrogen is another growth opportunity for India. As a vector, it allows for the storage of solar power and removes the intermittency issue associated with solar. Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable energy. As such, it is seen as crucial for India's long-term energy independence. Production relies heavily on abundant, low-cost renewable energy, primarily solar. Production of hydrogen could also be used to store excess energy produced in 'off-peak hours' by intermittent energy sources.

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Companies as as Indian multinational Reliance have announced major investments in green hydrogen, leveraging their solar and wind energy storage integrated manufacturing ecosystem, and setting up a giga-scale electrolyser manufacturing facility. While costs for green hydrogen remain high, making adoption slower, this is expected to change in the coming years, perhaps following a similar cost curve to solar. ​​​

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For further information, please contact: team@peakventures.in