Green hydrogen hackathon provides innovative ideas for India's hydrogen valley

Published on:

23 September 2024

In February, the Climate and Energy Response Facility (CERF) and the embassy of the Netherlands in New Delhi organised an online green hydrogen hackathon in collaboration with Impact Hydrogen. This event allowed Dutch and Indian participants from companies and knowledge institutes to design and present innovative ideas for hydrogen valley developments in India. The winning team received tickets to the May World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam.

Beenu Mary Panicker is an Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department assistant professor at the College of Engineering Muttathara, Trivandrum, India. Her team won with the project plan: Sustainable hydrogen from sewage treatment effluent in Kerala. She tells us how winning the hackathon has been a game changer for her and her team.

How did the hackathon help with your idea?

"We participated in several brainstorming sessions, and the whole time, we were thinking about how we could improve our idea. The tasks and challenges during the hackathon really helped us. It was the first time I had ever participated in an online hackathon. So, it was a unique experience for me and my team members."

Can you tell us more about your team's idea?

"Of course. Our idea aims to use treated effluent from sewage treatment plants (STPs) to generate green hydrogen via water electrolysis. A news report on the STP at Muttathara, Thiruvananthapuram, inspired us. That plant wastes approximately 50 to 60 million litres of treated effluent daily. By using this treated water for hydrogen production, we want to:

create a sustainable, circular energy economy,
generate jobs,
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
provide a solution to the freshwater dependency in green hydrogen generation."

Winning the hackathon has been a game changer. As the news spread through the media, funding agencies offered us a chance to submit proposals, and government officials recognised our achievements.

Beenu Mary Panicker

How did you react to winning the hackathon?

"It was a breathtaking moment. Words are not enough to express our joy and excitement. We had hoped to at least get third place. When the judging panel announced us as first prize winners, we could not believe our ears."

How has winning this event influenced your journey and advanced your project?

"Our Electrical Engineering department has been working on this idea for 2 years. We really wanted to get some research funding to develop it further, but the funding agencies kept rejecting our proposals. Winning the hackathon has been a game changer. As the news spread through the media, funding agencies offered us a chance to submit proposals, and government officials recognised our achievements.

We also had the opportunity to meet Sri Jyothilal, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala, to share our experience on the hackathon victory. He informed us of the latest developments in the green hydrogen sector and future sector possibilities. He also assured us that the government would take the necessary steps to implement our idea. As a result, we met with stakeholders such as Kerala Water Authority and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. All agreed to carry out our idea at the sewage treatment plant in Muttathara, Trivandrum.

As prize winners, we visited the World Hydrogen Summit (WHS) 2024 in Rotterdam. The WHS exhibitions were a revelation for us. We gained insights from global leaders in the hydrogen sector and networked with academics and government officials. We expect the interactions at the summit to pave the way for future partnerships and funding opportunities."

What are your ambitions for the future?

"I am pleased to be a part of our startup company. In the future, I hope we will collaborate with foreign organisations and flourish worldwide. I also want my research activities to contribute to a sustainable future. I hope that another hackathon will change the life of some other deserving team in the future."