India’s green hydrogen story kickstarted with the announcement of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) in January 2023 with the grand objective of making India the global hub for producing, consuming and exporting green hydrogen and its derivatives.
To achieve this objective, the NGHM aims to produce 5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of green hydrogen by 2030, with a further ambition to produce 10mmtpa based on the development of export market.
The Indian government followed this with a supply-side incentive program, Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT), under the NHGM, in June 2023 with an outlay of Rs174.9 billion (US$2,098.8 million).
The SIGHT program had two distinct financial incentive mechanisms to support the domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and the production of green hydrogen.
The tenders were floated in July 2023, and the results were announced in January 2024. Both the components of electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen production were outbid by a huge margin, indicating a high market interest.
he government also defined green hydrogen standards in August 2023, indicating the thresholds that must be met for hydrogen produced to be classified as green hydrogen. While this definition suggests the basic standard of green hydrogen, a detailed methodology for measurement, reporting, monitoring and certification of green hydrogen is yet to be specified.
The planned pilot projects in three distinct emissions-critical sectors of shipping, steel, and transport indicate India’s seriousness in advancing the hydrogen economy.
First, by targeting the pilots in hard-to-abate sectors, such as steel manufacturing and shipping, India is attempting a bold move to decarbonise the sectors with the most promising green fuel of the future. Secondly, India is showing its intent to prepare for the carbon-constrained world of the future by attempting to decarbonise steel and shipping, which have global implications.
Thirdly, the country also exhibited its technology-agnostic approach to decarbonising the transport sector by piloting green hydrogen use in transportation. India is promoting the electrification of transport while at the same time encouraging the use of biofuels and other promising fuels like hydrogen.