India, US for giving push to sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen in buses

New Delhi: India and the US have agreed to give impetus to sustainable aviation fuel, promote electrification of medium and heavy-duty vehicles and use of hydrogen in buses, tractors and heavy equipment, said a joint statement issued after the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership dialogue between the two nations.

The two nations "welcomed increased investment in each country's clean energy markets," according to the statement issued after the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) Ministerial convened by US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri in Washington DC on Monday.

"While recognising the need to work towards a just, orderly and sustainable energy transition, which prioritises access to reliable, affordable, and clean energy supplies, the (two) sides welcomed the important role that energy trade plays in supporting the national priorities of both countries," the statement said.

The two countries highlighted the importance of modernising the power distribution sector to supply 24x7 reliable power to consumers, welcomed support for India's smart metering deployment, as well as expanded efforts on inverter-based resources, power market reforms, system inertia estimation, and cybersecurity.

The ministers also commended the Indian Railways efforts to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and welcomed collaboration to support India's first round-the-clock renewable energy procurement of over 1.5 GW and development of an energy efficiency policy and action plan for all railway facilities.

"The two countries agreed to give an impetus to sustainable aviation fuel," the statement said.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an alternative fuel made from non-petroleum feedstocks that reduces emissions from air transportation. It can be produced from non-petroleum-based renewable feedstocks, including the food and yard waste portion of municipal solid waste, woody biomass, fats/greases/oils, and other feedstocks. SAF can be blended in jet fuel to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

"In this context, the sides welcomed new engagement on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) with an inaugural SAF workshop to support training on R&D, tax incentives, supply chain capacity building, market development, financing opportunities, fuel certification, regional and international coalition building, and facilitating commercial partnerships. The ministers also welcomed the development of two joint reports on SAF and biofuels under the Biofuels Task Force," the statement said.

The two nations reiterated their commitment to enhancing energy efficiency and welcomed collaboration on super-efficient appliances to improve efficiency standards, boost the deployment and manufacturing of high-efficiency affordable cooling systems and promote supply chain diversification.

The ministers welcomed new collaboration on electrification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles as well as the use of green hydrogen in buses, tractors and heavy equipment.

While the two ministers discussed carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), they noted progress under a workstream on methane abatement in the oil and gas sector.

"The ministers expressed satisfaction with the range of productive public-private sector dialogues that inform enabling policy and regulatory frameworks; help scale, deploy, and reduce costs of clean energy technologies; and facilitate investment and commercial partnerships," it said.

They recognised that energy transitions require concerted action and implementation at the national and local levels to ensure viable, sustainable clean energy efforts and a just energy transition. To that end, the ministers welcomed capacity building and dissemination of best practices, across all levels of government.

The ministers recognised the progress the two countries have made to accelerate the development and deployment of emerging clean energy technologies, advancing renewable energy deployment and reliable grid integration, promoting energy efficiency, and advancing decarbonisation of high-emitting sectors like industry, buildings, and transport.

They welcomed the formal launch of the Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) in August 2023, aimed at developing actionable roadmaps for hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, offshore wind, and geothermal, through R&D, pilots and demonstration, and incubation-investment-industry networks. They also expressed satisfaction at the progress being made by both sides under the RETAP mechanism.

The two countries welcomed collaboration on the new National Centre for Hydrogen Safety in India and highlighted expanded bilateral expert exchanges on clean hydrogen R&D, cost reduction efforts, and implementation of hydrogen hubs in both countries through RETAP, the public-private Hydrogen Task Force.

The ministers stressed the importance of supporting large-scale grid integration of renewable energy while enabling flexible and reliable grid operations through energy storage.

They welcomed the formal launch of the public-private Energy Storage Task Force to address policy and regulatory frameworks, safety, manufacturing and supply chains, and innovative business models; focused RETAP efforts on long-duration energy storage and alternative chemistries to Li-ion technologies; efforts on the technical and economic feasibility of various storage technologies available for a renewable energy battery energy storage system (BESS) in Assam; and support for BESS bids and pilots in Haryana. The sides also recognised pumped storage as a long-term energy storage option.

"The ministers praised the breadth and depth of the US-India partnership to advance progress toward our common clean energy goals and address today’s unprecedented climate challenges. They noted that by leveraging the SCEP partnerships, the US and India can spur innovation and help build more secure, resilient, and diverse clean energy supply chains," it added.