MECON, a government of India enterprise offering design, engineering, consultancy, and contracting services, has issued an expression of interest (EoI) to implement pilot projects for green hydrogen use in the steel sector.
Bids must be submitted by April 8, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day.
Selected bidders must furnish a processing fee of ₹1,180 (~$12.55), including GST @18% for the technical and commercial bids separately.
Successful bidders must submit a performance bank guarantee (PBG) of 3% of the approved central financial assistance (CFA).
The scope of work entails the engineering, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning of the pilot projects. It also involves providing operation and maintenance services.
Successful bidders must finalize the project land and technology and prepare detailed project reports within three months. They must arrange the hydrogen gas for the projects themselves.
Alternatively, they can indicate their annual hydrogen consumption, based on which, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) can initiate the selection of green hydrogen producers/suppliers through a competitive bidding process.
The projects must be completed within 36 months. Delays in commissioning will incur penalties of 0.1% per completed week, capped at 5% of the CFA.
Bidders must have owned or operated at least one facility in the iron and steel sector in India in the 10 years preceding the EoI. These facilities can include blast furnaces, direct-reduced iron plants, electric arc furnaces, induction furnaces, submerged electric arc furnaces, rolling mills, or any other smelting/reduction furnaces and/or agglomeration facilities.
Bidders must have a positive net worth as of the previous financial year. They must have a minimum average annual turnover of 40% of the project cost during the last three consecutive financial years.
In October 2024, MECON issued a request for proposal for pilot projects on green hydrogen injection in existing blast furnaces and direct reduced iron-making units.
In the same month, the MNRE approved three pilot projects to use hydrogen in steel production under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. It will provide ₹3.47 billion (~$41.28 million) as financial support for these pilot projects, which will likely be commissioned in the next three years.
