The renewables arm of state-owned Indian power giant NTPC is seeking electrolyser companies to act as partners in up to 1GW of future green hydrogen tenders.
NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd yesterday said it would hold a tender for prospective partners, with the winning bidder or bidders supplying, installing, commissioning and maintaining 400MW of proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers and 600MW of non-PEM electrolysers, as well as the balance of plant.
The winner or winners would also “provide support... for bidding in various tenders related to green hydrogen”, NTPC said in its “notice for upcoming invitation for bids”.
It is not clear if NTPC has specific tenders in mind, whether in India or elsewhere, or simply wants to be prepared for when auctions are unveiled.
The Indian government has announced a target of producing five million tonnes of renewable H2 annually by 2030, but is yet to announce any auctions that would help it meet that goal.
Only companies of a certain size will be allowed to bid into NTPC's electrolyser-provider tender — those with a total annual production capacity of 50MW, an average annual turnover of more than $64m over the past three years, and a line of credit from a bank of at least $21m. The document adds that “the bidder should have positive net-worth as on the last day of the preceding financial year” — meaning that its assets are worth more than its debts.
These criteria may prove problematic to some of the world’s largest independent electrolyser makers, which have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new gigafactories, but still have relatively small revenues.
For instance, UK-based PEM electrolyser maker ITM Power only brought in revenue of just $4.3m in the 2020-21 financial year and $3.3m the year before, despite having a 1GW electrolyser factory in northern England and financing in place to expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities to 5GW by 2024.
Electrolyser manufacturers that are part of larger corporations — such as Siemens Energy and Thyssenkrupp — would therefore have an advantage.
NTPC’s notice for bids does not mention any preference for locally produced electrolysers, which may be disappointing for manufacturers Ohmium and John Cockerill, which are both building 2GW factories in the country.
NTPC — formerly National Thermal Power Corporation — is the largest power company in India, with a generating capacity of almost 68GW (including 1.7GW of renewables and 48GW of coal), and is 51.1%- owned by the national government.
