NEW DELHI & BHUBANESWAR — In a decisive acceleration of India’s net-zero industrial roadmap, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), through the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), has finalized contract allocations for 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum of green hydrogen and green ammonia production capacity. Conducted under the ₹17,490-crore Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) incentive framework, the competitive bids secured record-low production tariffs.
The aggressive scaling anchors India’s ambition to capture 10% of global green hydrogen export trade by 2030, leveraging the subcontinent’s abundant solar insolation and coastal shipping corridors to displace carbon-intensive fossil fuels in heavy industry.
Electrolyser Gigafactories and Supply Chain Independence
A major strategic vulnerability in early green hydrogen blueprints was dependency on foreign electrolyser imports. Under Tranche-II of the electrolyser manufacturing incentives, leading Indian conglomerates have inaugurated domestic gigafactories capable of producing over 3,000 MW of advanced Alkaline and Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers annually.
Domestic fabrication of platinum-coated catalyst-coated membranes and titanium bipolar plates has compressed capital expenditure by over 35%, driving levelized production costs down toward $2.20 per kilogram—rapidly approaching parity with natural-gas-derived grey hydrogen.
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Maritime Bunkering Hubs at Paradip and Kandla
On the infrastructure front, the Ministry of Ports has commenced construction of specialized cryogenic green ammonia storage tanks and offshore bunkering terminals at Deendayal Port (Kandla) on the western coast and Paradip Port on the eastern seaboard.
With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) enforcing strict greenhouse gas levies on commercial ocean shipping, these deep-water ports will serve as vital zero-emission refueling hubs for global container liners transiting the Indian Ocean, alongside exporting bulk ammonia cargoes to Japan, South Korea, and the European Union.
Mandatory Industrial Blending Across Steel and Fertilizer Sectors
To establish durable domestic demand, the government has published draft offtake mandates requiring state-owned petroleum refineries to replace 20% of grey hydrogen consumption with green hydrogen by 2028, alongside phased blending quotas in urea fertilizer synthesis and direct reduced iron (DRI) steelmaking plants.
