Biraj Singh Thapa

A passion for education and innovation is what comes to mind when one talks to Biraj. A PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, he is now the Program Lead for Nepal Hydrogen Initiatives at Kathmandu University. Biraj was also the leading force in setting up the Green Hydrogen Lab at the university in 2020, first of its kind in South Asia. He says, “I think hydrogen is like a Swiss knife of renewables of the future. It can be utilized in various industries for replacing coal, such as brick and tile industries and metal refinery, fertilizer processing, heavy duty transport, etc. Essentially every sector that requires thorough decarbonization, hydrogen can be used.”

Biraj participated in SARIC’s Green Hydrogen Study and Networking Tour in September 2024, through which he attended the Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Summit and Exhibition in Brisbane. Visiting the summit in Australia was of particular significance, because he got to see the technology that he had only ever studied in theory.

Biraj also attended the India Energy Storage week in New Delhi as part of the SARIC alumni delegation in July 2025, where he presented on Nepal’s journey with Green Hydrogen, and positioned Nepal as the key collaborator for technical innovation in South Asia. The conference served as a great opportunity to establish connections with many Indian public and private sector officials, as well as interact with SARIC alumni from different countries and different courses, fostering a sense of community and giving impetus to conversations on possible partnerships.

Biraj heavily emphasizes the pressing need for adopting renewables, especially within South Asia and the broader Global South. “We must understand the urgency of net zero carbon goals. If we keep on using fossil fuels just because they are cheaper than renewables, who knows how long humanity will survive. South Asia is heavily populated, and the energy requirements will only keep increasing here on out.” He also acknowledges the various challenges that South Asia will face while undertaking the ambitious energy transition goals. It is a high investment desire, in terms of capital investment, infrastructure, innovation and human resource development. Biraj believes greater South Asian collaboration to be a solution for these concerns. “SARIC trainings and networking events were incredible, because I could interact with other hydrogen experts and visionaries from the region. We found many parallels between the energy needs and challenges between Nepal and Bhutan, India and Bangladesh. Our countries can come together for decarbonization, everyone is just starting out within the field of hydrogen, so there is a lot of potential to collaborate across borders especially in terms of knowledge sharing, policy and trade, and human resource development.”