Inland Waterways Authority of India chairman Vijayakumar said Thoothukudi VOC Port will soon become the first carbon-free port in the country. He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Creating a Sustainable Maritime Future’ for Green Ports and Shipping, which was held in Thoothukudi on Monday.
National Green Hydrogen project director Abhay Bakri, Energy and Resources director Vibha Dhawan, Indian Maritime University vice chancellor Malini Shankar, Thoothukudi VOC Port Authority chairman Susanthakumar Purohit and others participated and spoke at the seminar.
Following this, Union Shipping secretary DK Ramachandran addressed the gathering via video conferencing. Speaking to reporters, Vijayakumar said, “Work is in full swing to set up a green methanol facility at the Thoothukudi VOC port at a cost of Rs 35 crore. This work will be completed by December this year. Once this green methanol plant becomes operational, ships running on green methanol as fuel will operate on the green route between the Thoothukudi VOC port and the Gujarat Kandla port.
Thoothukudi is one of the three ports declared as green hydrogen hubs in the country. The Thoothukudi VOC port has signed a memorandum of understanding with five companies for the production of green hydrogen. As many as 500 acres of land have been allocated in the port complex for the work.
Under this project, the first phase of hydrogen production will start in 2029. “The VOC port is meeting most of the port’s electricity requirements through solar and wind power generation. Thus, about 50 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced. Moreover, with the installation of an additional 6 MW solar power plant, the Thoothukudi VOC Port will become the first carbon-neutral port in India by 2026,” he said.