But can the country overcome the economic and technical hurdles standing in its way?
“We want to make India not only a major producer but also a global hub for green hydrogen export,” declared Shripad Naik, minister of state for power and new and renewable energy, at a business conference in New Delhi last week.
Under its National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched in 2023, India aims to capture 10 per cent of the world market and produce 5 million tonnes of the fuel annually by 2030.
The programme also envisages nearly US$92 billion in investment, the creation of half a million jobs and a reduction of US$11 billion in fossil fuel imports – plus a cut of 50 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
Naik said that progress was already visible: contracts for 862,000 tonnes of production capacity had been awarded to 19 companies, alongside 3,000 megawatts of electrolyser manufacturing capacity to 15 companies since the mission’s launch.
