Developing green hydrogen low-cost research and development platform in Bhutan

"The power sector is the largest source of the government revenue and the premier contributor to the countryʼs gross domestic product. [...] Power generation in Bhutan relies almost exclusively on hydropower. The total installed capacity of existing hydropower plants is 1,488 megawatt (MW). Since all of the existing plants are run-of-the-river types, the total generation drastically drops to about 300 MW during the winter dry season (December–March) due to low water levels. This falls short of meeting peak system demand during winter dry seasons. To deal with the seasonal power shortage, Bhutan has curtailed industrial loads during the winter months. Power has been imported from India, especially in the winter, but this will become increasingly difficult to arrange because India has its own power shortage during these months.” [1] The hypothesis is that investing in large amounts of chemical batteries is expensive, unpractical, and hard to scale, while developing flexible hydrogen tanks [2] from local materials and becoming a major exporter of green hydrogen would provide Bhutan: - The ability to store energy to operate its own industry in the dry season - Electrify hard-to-reach rural communities - Improve Bhutan capacity to control energy export price over time - Diversify Bhutan clients with attractive green hydrogen in the region and beyond