As an inter-governmental organisation with a membership of 119 countries (99 Member Countries and 20 Signatory Countries), the International Solar Alliance (ISA) promotes the deployment of solar energy solutions in its member countries and provides support under the three pillars outlined in its Five-Year Strategic Plan (2022-2026): (i) analytics and advocacy, (ii) programmatic support, and (iii) capacity building. ISA works extensively with its partner organisations to mobilise resources, including financing and technology for deployment in its member countries. As a partner organisation, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has supported ISA through knowledge and support technical assistance (KSTA or TA) since 2018.

The sessions will be interactive, encouraging active engagements of the invited speakers with the participating audience.

SESSION 1: Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre Portal: A One-Stop Hub for Green Hydrogen

ISA under the G20 India Presidency has created a virtual Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre (GHIC; www.isa-ghic.org) that will support the production, utilization, and trade of green hydrogen, besides providing a platform for knowledge sharing and building competency across the green hydrogen value chain. The GHIC will also provide opportunities to incubate start-ups, provide certified training, and host Expert Working Groups to support the scale-up of the green hydrogen ecosystem in member countries. This AI-integrated platform will serve as a dynamic One-Stop Gateway to provide access to the green hydrogen knowledge repository, country insights, developments in hydrogen space, global initiatives and missions, skill development, and community engagement. GHIC was launched by ISA during the G20 Energy Ministers’ Meeting in July 2023 in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India and ADB and subsequently, was included in the G20 Leaders’ Summit Delhi Declaration. Since its launch, several initiatives have been undertaken to enhance knowledge dissemination through GHIC. As of now, around 40 country insights have been developed and deep-dive assessments have been conducted using the Green Hydrogen Ecosystem Readiness Framework on selected ISA member countries. GHIC also plans to integrate green hydorgen toolkits developed under the ISA-ADB collaboration into its platform. Furthermore, GHIC is facilitating a series of certified training programmes and has initiated the search process for startups to join its Global Startup Programme.

SESSION 2: Mobilising Resources for Solar through Innovations

The session will present the Asia Pacific edition of the ISA SolarX Startup Challenge and the ISA-ADB interventions aimed at mobilising solar resources through innovations. This initiative focuses on bringing together innovators from the region in the solar energy sector. It aims to nurture scalable business models and accelerate global energy transitions, aligning with the commitments of ISA to unlock the vast potential of solar deployment. Building on the success of its first edition in the African Region, which effectively promoted start-ups, this second edition targets the Asia-Pacific region. It seeks implementable, cost-effective, scalable, and innovative solutions to some of the most persistent challenges faced by the solar energy sector in terms of mobilising investment and building local capacity. The overarching objective is to promote innovation and discover solutions, contributing to increased investment and local capacity for deploying solar at scale. Overall, this session aims to achieve a collaborative platform where stakeholders can exchange ideas, foster partnerships, and drive the solar energy sector forward in the Asia-Pacific region. It will facilitate the identification of actionable strategies and innovative financial solutions to overcome regional challenges and support deploying solar at scale.