Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to select green hydrogen producers for setting up 450,000 metric tons (MT)/annum production facilities for green hydrogen across India under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) program (Mode-I, Tranche-I).

The SIGHT program is a significant financial measure under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an outlay of ₹174.9 billion (~$2.12 billion).

The last date to submit the bids is September 7, 2023. Bids will be opened on September 12.

Bidders will have to submit ₹1.5 million (~$18,146) + applicable GST as the bid processing fee. They must pay ₹2,500 (~$30.24)/MT of the quoted capacity as an earnest money deposit.

Also, the successful bidder will have to furnish an amount equivalent to ₹5,000 (~$60.49)/MT of the allocated capacity as a performance bank guarantee within 15 days of receiving the letter of award from SECI.

Under this tender, the green hydrogen producer will be required to set up production facilities in thousand metric tons (TMT) scale for the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives, with the primary objective to promote and maximize the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives in India to enable rapid scale-up, technology development, and cost reduction.

The bidder can opt for any one or both of the following buckets:

• Bucket-I: Technology Agnostic Pathways
• Bucket-II: Biomass-based Pathways

The total capacity under Bucket-I is 410,000 MT/annum of green hydrogen, and the total capacity under Bucket-II is 40,000 MT/annum.

The projects should be quoted in multiples of 500 MT only.

The minimum capacity allocated under Bucket-I is 10,000 MT/annum, and the maximum capacity is 90,000 MT/annum. Similarly, the minimum capacity allocated under Bucket-II is 500 MT/annum, and the maximum capacity is 4,000 MT/annum.

The projects must be commissioned within 30 months from the date of receiving the letter of award.

Any bidder from a country that shares a land border with India will be eligible to bid in this tender only if the bidder is registered with the competent authority.

To be eligible, the net worth of bidders as of the last day of the previous financial year should be at least ₹150 million (~$1.81 million)/thousand MT for Bucket-I and ₹15 million (~$181,463)/thousand MT for Bucket-II.

The production facilities awarded under this tender will be eligible for getting direct incentives by SECI in ₹/kg of green hydrogen production on an annual basis for three years from the date of commencement of green hydrogen production.

The incentive payout to the green hydrogen producer will be calculated as follows:

Incentive payout in a given year = [(Incentive quoted for that year in ₹/kg) x (Allocated capacity or Actual production in the year, in kg, whichever is lower)].

In another tender, SECI issued a request for selection (RfS) of electrolyzer manufacturers for setting up 1.5 GW of electrolyzer manufacturing capacities in India under Tranche-I of the SIGHT program.

Earlier, MNRE had released a framework document outlining incentive programs for the manufacturing of electrolyzers and the production of green hydrogen within the country, with a combined financial outlay of ₹174.9 billion (~$2.12 billion).

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