Thermax is ready to make a major capital investment to set up a solid oxide electrolyzer manufacturing unit in India, said Ashish Bhandari, CEO of the company.
Recently, an Indian multinational engineering conglomerate announced a partnership with UK-based Ceres Power for green hydrogen production through large-scale solid oxide electrolysis cell manufacturing in India.
The companies have entered into an agreement in which Thermax will manufacture, sell and service stacked array modules based on Ceres’ advanced solid oxide electrolysis cell technology.
Thermax also plans to establish an electrolyzer manufacturing facility, develop its supply chain and localize key components over the next two years.
“Investment (indigenizing the project) will vary depending on the success of each stage, but we are preparing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to establish full-scale manufacturing capacity for solid oxide electrolyzers. ,” Bhandari told NDTV Profit. .
Thermax CEO said that hydrogen as a technology of the future will be important for many industries in India that are hard to decline, such as steel, refining, petrochemicals and fertilizers.
“I think solid oxide technology for electrolysis is an important technology that can make this change happen faster,” he said.
Bhandari pointed out that the company is focusing more on green technology, which is reflected in the order book breakdown of Rs 10.5 billion.
“Currently, we operate about 70% of so-called green (energy) and 30% of conventional fossil fuels,” a top executive said.
Bhandari said he expects new opportunities for the green transition to improve the company’s profit margins.
“I think we had an exceptional hit, especially in Q1. We had some items that were a one-shot hit, especially on the bio-CNG portfolio and project side. Overall, we believe our margins are on an improving trend. ” he added.
Thermax’s stock price on Thursday rose 1.8 per cent to an intraday high of Rs 5,296.15 per share on the BSE, higher than its previous closing price of Rs 5,197.30 per share.
The stock was trading 1.48 per cent higher at Rs 5,274.20 per share on the BSE around 2:20 pm.
According to Bloomberg data, four of the 23 analysts tracking the company have rated the stock a “buy,” nine have recommended a “hold,” and 10 have recommended a “sell.”
