Pillar 3 of 5 · kills: Water purification cost
Local clean water, not desalination.
We choose sites where the water is already clean, and we use an electrolyser that needs a third less of it.
Modelled saving
₹12–17/kg
₹15–20/kg → ₹2–3/kg
2 · The mechanism
In coastal and industrial locations, desalination and purification take 8–12% of green hydrogen cost. Both our sites were selected for water first: Jalalabad sits on clean aquifers with spring water access; Khordha has groundwater and treated municipal supply at lower TDS than coastal clusters. Treatment is basic filtration plus DM processing — ₹0.50 per 1000 litres against ₹3–5 desalinated.
The plant polishes water to 18.2 MΩ through reverse osmosis and ion exchange at 90% recovery, and recycles 85–95% of process water in a closed loop. Daily draw is 6,240 litres per electrolyser for 450 kg of hydrogen.
PEM compounds the advantage: roughly 9 litres per kilogram of hydrogen against 12–15 for alkaline, a 33–40% reduction before any site advantage is counted.
3 · The components
Everything on this page is bought, not invented.
| What is used | Who makes it | Maturity |
|---|---|---|
| Borewell / spring intake | Local civil contractor | Standard |
| RO + ion-exchange train to 18.2 MΩ | Indian water-treatment OEM | Commercial |
| Closed-loop recycle and 6,500 L/day storage | Standard supply | Standard |
Supplier names given by class. Partners are in discussion unless a written agreement exists; none is implied as an endorsement.
4 · The numbers
₹12–17/kg
Basis. Water at ₹15–20/kg in a desalination-dependent plant against ₹2–3/kg here, including PEM's lower draw.
Sensitivity. A doubling of local water cost moves the saving by under ₹1/kg. The exposure is aquifer quality, not price.
- ₹0.50/1000 Lsite data
- /1000 L
- ₹3–5/1000 Lindustry benchmark
- /1000 L
- ~9L water/kg H₂supplier spec
- vs alkaline 12–15
- 6,240L/day per electrolysermodelled
- producing 450 kg H₂
- 90%recoverysupplier spec
- recovery
- 85–95%closed-loop recyclingmodelled
- closed-loop recycling
5 · What we still need to prove
- 01Long-run aquifer quality at Jalalabad under sustained draw needs a hydrogeological study, not a sample.