India is all set to host a two-day summit on Green Hydrogen initiatives involving the BRICS nations.

What is Green Hydrogen?

• Hydrogen, when produced by electrolysis using renewable energy is known as Green Hydrogen which has no carbon footprint.
• This gives hydrogen the edge over other fuels to unlock various avenues of green usage.
• However, challenges lie in terms of technology, efficiency, financial viability, and scaling up which the summit will aim to address.

Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.With reference to ‘fuel cells’ in which hydrogen-rich fuel and oxygen are used to generate electricity, consider the following statements:

1. If pure hydrogen is used as a fuel, the fuel cell emits heat and water as by products.
2. Fuel cells can be used for powering buildings and not for small devices like laptop computers.
3. Fuel cells produce electricity in the form of Alternating Current (AC).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Applications of green hydrogen

• Green hydrogen has innumerable applications.
• Green Chemicals like ammonia and methanol can directly be utilized in existing applications like fertilizers, mobility, power, chemicals, shipping among others.
• Green Hydrogen blending up to 10 percent may be adopted in CGD networks to gain widespread acceptance.
• Further scaling up with greening of hard to abate sectors like steel and cement through hydrogen is to be explored.
• Many countries have brought out their strategies and defined targets and roadmaps based on their resources and strengths.

Back2Basics: BRICS Countries

• BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• To be clear, BRICS was not invented by any of its members.
• In 2001, Goldman Sachs’ Jim O’Neill authored a paper called “Building Better Global Economic BRICs”, pointing out that future GDP growth in the world would come from China, India, Russia and Brazil.
• Significantly, the paper didn’t recommend a separate grouping for them, but made the case that the G-7 grouping, made up of the world’s most industrialized, and essentially Western countries, should include them.
• O’Neill also suggested that the G-7 group needed revamping after the introduction of a common currency for Europe, the euro, in 1999.
• In 2003, Goldman Sachs wrote another paper, “Dreaming with BRICs: Path to 2050”, predicting that the global map would significantly change due to these four emerging economies.
• In 2006, leaders of the BRIC countries met on the margins of a G-8 (now called G-7) summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, and BRIC was formalized that year.

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