The biggest structural shift in the global energy system is underway. Plants, originally built to run 24/7 burning fossil fuels, are retiring. The pace at which capacity is being added for solar and wind was unthinkable a decade ago. And still, you have not completely transitioned yet because cheap electricity alone is not enough. The world needs clean energy that is also reliable, storable and available on demand. The real transition of energy will be taking place there, and solar, wind and green hydrogen are moving the goalposts.
The Cost Battle is Won. Reliability is Next
Domestic and global renewable energy firms have accomplished the unprecedented with solar PV and wind on their way to becoming two of the least expensive energy frameworks built at any point. In most markets, it is cheaper to generate power from a new solar or wind plant than to keep an existing coal plant operational. A cost inflection has reshaped investment maps and retirement schedules for fossil fuel assets internationally.
The grid, however, does not operate on annual averages. The supply runs on instantaneous demand and renewable generation does not always correspond with what humanity needs at that moment. Grid operators refer to this distance between generation and consumption as the duck curve problem, which is one of the defining engineering challenges of achieving a clean energy transition.
The second challenge is seasonal. The rapid drops in wind and/or solar generation can seem particularly terrifying to the energy sector, also known as the Dunkelflaute event: a period when there is a lack of strong winds for long durations (days or weeks) coupled with low solar irradiance typically in winter months. The absolute best battery systems, including lithium-ion batteries, are optimised for short duration storage; they were never meant to last a two-week energy drought whenever renewable production plummet.
BESS Keeps the Grid Stable. Green Hydrogen Keeps Industry Moving
Short-duration grid balancing is dominated by Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). They absorb excess solar generation during the day and dispatch it for evening peaks, offering frequency regulation and peak shaving in 1–3 millisecond timescales. But for all the multiple challenges that the duck curve throws across grid operators every day, BESS is exactly what they need.
The more difficult question is what occurs when the sun and wind both underperform for days, or weeks at a time. No battery system is built to withstand that. In practice, the answer is not a single technology but rather two technologies working together.
- Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH): PSH is the most established long-duration storage technology that exists. Excess renewable energy fills an upper reservoir with water and when the grid calls for electricity, that water is discharged through turbines. The system is simple, scalable and has 70-85% round-trip efficiency.
- Smart Grid Interconnection: Rajasthan may be quiet at the same time as every turbine in Tamil Nadu’s wind hall is generating power at peak capacity. Interconnecting these resource zones via high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines allows grid operators to scoop in the power when it flows freely wherever in the system is available, essentially morphing geographic diversity into a sort of natural resilience. A better, properly connected grid makes any weather event less damaging.
Delivering on Sectors that Electricity Alone Cannot Decarbonise
For decarbonisation, hard-to-abate sectors require more than just electrification. These carbon-intensive sectors need extreme heat, chemical feedstocks, or energy carriers with a density that batteries cannot match. This is where green hydrogen not only comes in handy; it becomes essential.
- Steel: Traditional steel is produced using fossil fuels as a chemical reductant to extract iron from ore and typically generates around 1.85 tonnes of CO₂ for both direct (ferrous metallurgy) process emissions and energy needed to produce one tonne of new steel. In this reaction, water vapour is produced instead of carbon dioxide as fossil fuels are replaced with green hydrogen.
- Shipping: A container ship on a trans-oceanic crossing requires energy density greater than any battery pack can possibly come close to today. Green ammonia or synthetic e-methanol, could be converted from green hydrogen to provide a viable zero-carbon fuel using existing marine engine infrastructure.
- Fertilisers: The Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia for nitrogen fertilisers already emits a total of ~1.8% annual global CO₂ emissions, driven entirely by its reliance on grey hydrogen from natural gas. If green hydrogen is used as the feedstock, this decarbonises fertiliser production at source, breaking the link between global food supply and fossil fuel consumption.
Combined, these sectors represent a large chunk of emissions that cannot be tackled by a renewable electricity target alone. Green hydrogen is the glue of decarbonisation across the power sector and the whole economy.
Green Hydrogen Economy — India’s Position
The shift to Green Hydrogen has not escaped the attention of India. A mix of high solar irradiance, strong coastal wind resources and a fast-maturing renewables industry makes the country one of the most competitive green hydrogen production geographies in the world. With an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, the National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to produce 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, enabling India to emerge as a significant green hydrogen exporter.
Green hydrogen companies in India are already converging solar generation with electrolyser capacity, constructing the supply chain infrastructure, from dedicated renewables procurement to liquefaction and port-side bunkering that any hydrogen export economy would need. The policy momentum and resource base are there.
The opportunity that lies ahead of green hydrogen companies in India is not a far-fetched pivot. The transition from electrons to molecules is already underway.
One Day Off a Year — Or Every Day
Zero Emissions Day, held annually on September 21, has a simple yet powerful concept: Give the Earth 24 hours without fossil fuels! That notion was far more conceptual than practical for most of the event’s 19-year existence. Today, it is more of an engineering question, and the engineering is getting very close to catching up.
The vision of integrating utility-scale solar, wind, battery storage and green hydrogen is not just a policy document; it is being built across India and the rest of the world. Every gigawatt of renewable capacity added, every electrolyser put into commission, and every tonne of green hydrogen delivered to an industrial offtaker — is a step closer to what the grid will need for it to not rely on fossil fuels, not just by September 21, but on all days thereafter.
Renewables are already affordable; green hydrogen is making it reliable. Collectively, they are turning the permanent iteration of Zero Emission Day into something the world can do versus simply watch.
| Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general informational purposes only and not professional advice. Jakson Green Limited bears no responsibility for errors, omissions or the accuracy of the information provided. |
