India’s glass optical company Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STL) has agreed a deal for the supply of green hydrogen to its manufacturing facility.
The company, headquartered in Mumbai, has collaborated with green hydrogen solutions provider Hygenco.
In this long-term offtake agreement, Hygenco will build, own and operate the green hydrogen facility for STL for 20 years.
This facility will be based on renewable energy and commissioned in the next 15-18 months.
It will be the first green hydrogen project in India’s optical industry and boost STL’s ‘Net-Zero by 2030’ ambition.
STL has expertise in materials science, photonics and precision engineering and has set up a semiconductor-grade Glass Preform plant in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
This Industry 4.0-powered plant is dedicated to manufacturing Glass Preforms, which are used to draw optical fibre.
Hydrogen and oxygen are critical components in the production of optical fibre and are used as fuel in blast furnaces for making glass from silica particles.
In the optical fibre value chain, gases such as hydrogen and oxygen are considered as hard to decarbonise areas.
STL and Hygenco aim at carbon abatement to the tune of ~30% year on year.
STL currently uses electrolysers running on conventional energy.
Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, STL, said: “Through this collaboration with Hygenco, STL embarks on a transformative journey towards sustainability, harnessing the power of green hydrogen, an eco-friendly solution that empowers our Glass plant with clean energy."
