High green hydrogen hopes with Matrix IPO
Matrix Gas & Renewables is preparing for a stock market launch in 2025-26 amid a massive expansion into the green hydrogen space.
By March (2024) the Ahmedabad-based company had raised Rs350cr ($42m) in pre-IPO funding. Matrix managing director Chirag Kotecha tells us he wants to focus on CGD but also believes Matrix can become India's foremost green hydrogen producer.
Within the next 18 months, the company expects to commission a 350-MW alkaline technology electrolyser manufacturing facility to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. Kotecha stresses that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is closely monitoring Matix, along with Reliance, Adani and L&T.
All have won production-linked incentives to manufacture electrolysers under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the cabinet in January 2023. "Narendra Modi has said that he will inaugurate the plants himself," says Kotecha.
When asked how Matrix will balance the demands of CGD and green hydrogen businesses, Kotecha said: "We will focus on both." He refused to speculate on how much money the company might raise through the stock market launch.
"There is still a year to go," he said. Matrix believes manufacturing electrolysers will help it become more well-integrated in the gas value chain.
Kotecha adds Matrix is setting up a project for state-owned hydropower company NHPC at Kargil in Kashmir. This project includes solar power generation, green hydrogen production, storage, compression, and dispensing.
Another upcoming project is for state-owned Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory (NCL). "With NCL, we are developing a 'hydrogen valley' (an area pooling hydrogen resources) for the speciality chemical sector in Ankleshwar and Bharuch (Gujarat) and Pune, Khopoli and Taloja (Maharashtra)," says Kotecha.
"Industries can all use hydrogen from the common pool." Matrix will conduct the design, engineering, manufacture, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of an alkaline electrolyser in Pune for NCL.
Matrix expects national demand for green hydrogen to hit 12m t/y by 2030, with electrolyser demand potentially hitting 10-GW. "Matrix can achieve 10-15% market share," believes Kotecha, an electronics engineer with an MBA in finance.