Speaking at a CII summit on green hydrogen, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary, MNRE, acknowledged growing international uncertainty even as India stays firmly committed to its green hydrogen mission.
“One key factor, from an entrepreneur’s perspective, is market visibility,” Sarangi said. “That market — due to a variety of reasons such as geopolitical tensions and policy backtracking by some governments, including the US where the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) is stalled — has created some skepticism about whether this transition will move forward.”
Despite these headwinds, Sarangi expressed confidence in India’s role as a future green hydrogen leader, citing strong domestic traction. Under the ₹19,744 crore National Green Hydrogen Mission, the government has rolled out tenders for both production and electrolyzer manufacturing—receiving an enthusiastic response from industry majors like Reliance, L&T, and AM Green.
“We had targeted 3 GW of electrolyzer capacity, and the commitments received far exceed that,” Sarangi said. “Similarly, our green hydrogen production tender for 8 lakh tonnes saw full subscription.”
While domestic demand-building is progressing steadily—with backing from ministries like Fertilizers, Steel, and Shipping—Sarangi admitted that the global demand environment remains fluid.
India is currently in talks with ports like Rotterdam and Antwerp to establish certified supply chains for green hydrogen exports, but clear offtake agreements from foreign buyers are lacking.
In the meantime, India is pushing ahead with pilot projects to integrate green hydrogen into its own hard-to-abate sectors:m like Hydrogen-powered buses are being tested in Leh and four other locations. Select steel plants are also exploring green hydrogen as a replacement for coking coal. Even methanol-fueled shipping trials are underway with support from the Ministry of Ports.
Infrastructure at Kandla and Tuticorin ports is also being developed for green ammonia storage and handling.
India has introduced one of the world’s most stringent green hydrogen standards—capping CO₂ emissions at 2 kg per kg of hydrogen produced. The government is also working on defining product traceability to ensure exported green steel or fuels can be verified end-to-end.
“Whether it’s through regulation, incentives, global partnerships or standardisation—India is laying the groundwork,” Sarangi said.
