India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission: A Step Towards a Low-Carbon Economy

New Delhi: India has set a goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. As the country’s demand for energy and resources grows, a shift toward renewable energy sources is necessary to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Green hydrogen (GH2) is one of the most promising renewable energy carriers and has the potential to play a vital role in India’s low-carbon and self-reliant economic pathways.

Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water, powered by renewable energy. Unlike grey hydrogen, which is produced industrially from natural gas and generates significant carbon emissions, green hydrogen is renewable and carbon-free. The cleanest version of hydrogen is green hydrogen, which is generated by renewable energy sources without producing carbon emissions.

GH2 is versatile as it can be used as a combustion fuel or as feedstock for industrial processes. It can also be converted back into electricity in a fuel cell

Compared to the grid renewable electricity, can be more easily stored and transported over long distances for use further from the initial renewable energy source. Derivatives of GH2, such as green ammonia and green methanol, are long-term energy carriers that store surplus renewable electricity produced during periods of low demand.

India currently imports over 40% of its primary energy requirements, worth over USD 90 billion every year. The country’s major sectors, like mobility and industrial production, are significantly dependent on imported fossil fuels. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, can enable the utilization of domestically abundant renewable energy resources across regions, seasons, and sectors, feeding multiple usage streams, either as a fuel or as an industrial feedstock.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to make India the global hub for the production, usage, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives. The mission will build capabilities to produce at least 5Million Metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen per annum by 2030, with the potential to reach 10 MMT per annum with the growth of export markets. The mission also aims to make India a leader in the technology and manufacturing of electrolyzers and other enabling technologies for green hydrogen.

Sourcing green hydrogen currently involves significant costs of electrolyzers and input renewable energy, along with the costs of capital, supply, and treatment of water, storage and distribution, conversion of hydrogen to suitable derivatives, and enabling infrastructure. As the sector evolves, the costs of green hydrogen production are expected to decrease.

The Green Hydrogen pathway can be a key enabler for India’s aspirations of building a low-carbon and self-reliant economy. The National Green Hydrogen Mission is an opportune moment for India to scale up green hydrogen production and utilization across multiple sectors and align with global trends in technology, applications, policy, and regulation.