Sri Lanka is blessed with natural endowments such as water, wind and year-round sunlight which can be harnessed to produce renewable energy that can not only meet the domestic requirement, but also earn forex through export to neighbouring countries. Green hydrogen, which can be produced through hydrolysis using wind and solar power, offers a potential solution for significantly contributing to the transition of Sri Lanka towards a low-carbon economy, mitigating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by serving as a clean, efficient, and versatile energy vector. Sri Lanka has recognized that green hydrogen can offer a unique opportunity to tackle three significant socio-economic challenges: energy security and independence, energy affordability and equity, and environmental sustainability.
Therefore, a National Hydrogen Roadmap aimed at developing and formulating green hydrogen technologies in the country has been developed by the Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka (PDASL) jointly with Greenstat Hydrogen India with the support of the USAID, and it was unveiled on 01 September 2023.
The first ever conference on green hydrogen was held at Shangri-La Hotel on 21 November 2023 under the patronage of Hon. President Ranil Wickramasinghe with the participation of high-profile scientists and professionals from home and abroad. It was organized by Greenstat India and PDASL along with the NSF and several other institutions which created awareness and interest among the stakeholders on the immense potential of green hydrogen as a clean and versatile energy carrier.
As a follow-up to the above event, it is planned to conduct a national conference on green hydrogen this year on the way forward. The NSF, being a hub institution with a strong network with Sri Lankan scientists and professionals at home and abroad, is actively involved in organizing this event in concert with the relevant institutions. It is already in the process of developing a database of scientists working on and interested in green hydrogen and ascertaining the capacity building needs in HR and infrastructure and high-priority interventions.
A preliminary online discussion was held 07 February to obtain ideas, views and suggestions concerning the scope, theme, goal, objectives, structure etc. of the conference and it was decided to appoint an advisory committee, organizing committee and working committee to conduct the event successfully. It was attended by scientists and professionals from Greenstat, universities and R&D institutions. PDASL would be a key player of this event representing the Ministry of Power and Energy.
