India has made significant progress in creating a policy framework for green hydrogen, but the sector’s long-term success will depend on creating stable demand, strengthening regulatory certainty and building supporting infrastructure, experts said at the India Energy Storage Week (IESW) 2026.
Speaking during the panel discussion on ‘Green Molecules: Who Buys, Who Uses, Who Wins?’, policymakers, industry leaders and multilateral institutions said while supply-side initiatives under the National Green Hydrogen Mission have gained momentum, the next phase of growth will require stronger market creation measures to accelerate adoption across sectors.
Demand Creation Emerges As The Next Challenge
DMR Panda, Executive Director – Green Hydrogen, NTPC Green Energy, said India initially began its green hydrogen journey with hydrogen blending, but believes green ammonia could emerge as the sector’s biggest commercial success. “Green Ammonia might be most successful,” Panda said, noting that the molecule offers both economies of scale and significant international demand.
Referring to bilateral agreements being signed globally, he observed that most long-term contracts are typically not locked in for very long durations, with buyers often covering only around half of their expected demand while retaining flexibility for future purchases. He said such an approach could ultimately prove beneficial for both buyers and suppliers.
Surbhi Goyal, Senior Energy Specialist, World Bank, said India has emerged as one of the global leaders in green hydrogen, with several countries closely watching its policy evolution. “India is one of the leaders and all countries are learning with India,” Goyal said.
She noted that while developed economies have adopted different incentive structures, India is still shaping its own support mechanisms. According to her, subsidies need to be designed carefully so that benefits are balanced across the entire value chain rather than concentrated in one segment.
Looking ahead, Goyal said demand clarity remains one of the most important requirements for the industry. She also advocated a more inward-looking approach to market development, suggesting that green public procurement could become an important policy tool to stimulate domestic demand. Alongside this, she said basic infrastructure development and continued policy balancing by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) would be essential.
Mayank Shahi of Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd. said the fertiliser industry is already one of the country’s largest consumers of ammonia and is preparing for the transition towards greener alternatives. “We are looking forward to the green transition,” Shahi said.
He noted that nearly one-third of the company’s green ammonia supply contracts have already been signed. However, since fertilisers remain a highly subsidised sector, he said the industry cannot absorb a significant green premium and would prefer cost parity to ensure long-term business sustainability. Policy Certainty, Manufacturing and Infrastructure to Drive Scale
Kamya Kalra, Associate – Policies & Partnerships, GH2 India, said India has made considerable progress in addressing supply-side challenges, but policy efforts must now shift towards building commercially viable markets. “We now need to focus on commercial aspect,” Kalra said.
She identified three major policy priorities: creating demand by shifting existing hydrogen consumption towards green hydrogen, ensuring regulatory predictability and developing dedicated hydrogen infrastructure. According to Kalra, policymakers also need to assess the complete value chain, including buyer confidence and cost acceptability, to understand where industries are prepared to adopt green hydrogen. She added that long-term offtake agreements would provide the certainty required to unlock fresh investments.
Presenting the manufacturing perspective, Siddharth Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, L&T Electrolysers Ltd., said India possesses a strong opportunity to emerge as a global manufacturing hub for electrolysers. “To put India in the global roadmap from manufacturing point of view, one big enabler is research and development,” Gupta said.
He said research and development will be critical for improving electrolyser efficiency while simultaneously increasing localisation. Gupta noted that L&T Electrolysers has already achieved around 85 per cent localisation, with membranes remaining the only major imported component.
He added that the company is preparing for gigawatt-scale manufacturing with plans for 400 GW of electrolyser capacity. However, he cautioned that manufacturing expansion ultimately depends on clear demand signals. Without visibility on future demand, companies cannot provide certainty to suppliers or strengthen domestic supply chains.
The panellists agreed that while India’s policy framework has successfully catalysed the supply side of the green hydrogen ecosystem, the industry’s next phase will depend on creating robust domestic demand, expanding infrastructure, strengthening research and development, and providing long-term regulatory certainty. They said coordinated action across government and industry will be essential to establish a commercially viable market and position India as a global leader in green molecules.
