By Business India Editorial

India and Japan last week agreed to extend clean energy partnership to cover EVs, battery storages and green hydrogen as the two Asian countries are focusing on net zero carbon emission pathways. 

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio met at the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit, an India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership statement was issued, detailing areas of cooperation.

“India and Japan acknowledge the need to explore a variety of options to ensure a secure and stable supply of energy for achieving both goals of sustainable economic growth and addressing climate change. They share the view that there is no single pathway to achieve a low-carbon economy, but rather there are different paths for each country, the statement said. 

While India is targeting net zero-carbon emission by the year 2070, Japan is looking to achieve the target by 2050. 

“Both countries are tapping into low-carbon sunrise sectors and exploiting new technologies and business models to reduce carbon emissions,” the joint statement said. “This offers immense potential to enhance bilateral cooperation in the area of clean and sustainable development.”

The two countries agreed to expand the 2007 cooperation under the Japan-India Energy Dialogue to include Electric Vehicles (EV), storage systems including batteries, electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI), development of solar energy including solar PV cells, wind energy and clean coal technologies. They also collaborate on green hydrogen and ammonia, LNG, biofuels and strategic oil reserves. 

“Under this partnership, both sides agree that cooperation may also be pursued in other areas including through collaboration between leading research institutions and private sector of both countries for practical steps in accordance with their respective energy transition plans,” the statement said, adding these could include disposal, recycling and reclamation of useful material from batteries, solar panels, turbine blades and electronics; clean steel, and clean construction. 

These sectors, it said, are sunrise areas of growth and the biggest business opportunities. “As part of further efforts to build global and resilient supply chains, cooperation should be established on a long-term basis not only in the manufacturing sector but also in Research & Development, transfer of technology, training and capacity building and low-cost long-term financing,” it said. 

“The partnership will lead to clean growth by boosting job creation, innovation and investments. It will also demonstrate to the world that India and Japan are at the forefront in delivering on the ambitious climate and sustainable development goals.”