National Green Hydrogen Mission

Topic: Energy Resources of India: Conventional and Non-conventional · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) is a central government programme, launched in January 2023 with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore and run by the MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy). Its aim is to make and use 5 million tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen a year by 2030, supported by about 125 GW of new renewable power capacity linked to it [1].

It matters because some sectors cannot be cleaned up with electricity alone: refining, fertiliser, steel and shipping. Green hydrogen can cut their emissions. It can also reduce India's imports of gas and ammonia.

Explanation

How green hydrogen is made (cause → process → result)

• Hydrogen is both a fuel and an industrial raw material. When it burns, or is used in a fuel cell, it gives out only water. Any pollution comes from the way it is made.
• Step 1 (cause): renewable electricity from solar or wind is passed through water in an electrolyser (a machine that uses electric current to split water).
• Step 2 (process): this is called electrolysis. Water (H₂O) splits into hydrogen gas at one electrode and oxygen gas at the other.
• Step 3 (result): the hydrogen is almost carbon-free, because no fossil fuel is burnt at any step.
• Green Hydrogen Standard (2023, MNRE): in India, hydrogen counts as "green" only if its total emissions are not more than 2 kg CO₂ per kg of H₂. This limit covers every step:
• water treatment;
• electrolysis;
• gas purification;
• drying;
• compression.

What the Mission contains

• Targets for 2030:
• 5 MMT of green hydrogen a year;
• about 125 GW of linked renewable capacity;

• expected gains: about ₹8 lakh crore of investment, about 6 lakh jobs and about ₹1 lakh crore saved on fossil fuel imports [1].

• SIGHT (Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition): the Mission's money-support part. It funds two things:

• making electrolysers in India;

• producing green hydrogen.

• Research and development:

• A ₹400 crore R&D scheme supports 23 projects on hydrogen production, storage, safety and industrial use.

• In 2025 a ₹100 crore call for proposals was opened for start-ups, with up to ₹5 crore for each project [4].

• Green Hydrogen Hubs (recognised October 2025): these are places where hydrogen will be made, used and exported. All three are major ports [1][2].

Who will use it (demand sectors)

• Refineries: green hydrogen replaces the grey hydrogen now used to process oil.
• Fertiliser plants:
• green hydrogen is turned into green ammonia;

• green ammonia is then used to make urea and other fertilisers.

• Steel:

• hydrogen can take the place of coking coal in removing oxygen from iron ore;

• steel made this way is called green steel.

• Shipping: ships can run on fuels such as green ammonia and green methanol.

What it needs to work

• Cheap renewable power: green hydrogen still costs more than grey hydrogen. The cost comes down as solar power and electrolysers get cheaper.
• Water: electrolysis needs water. But the sunniest places, which are best for solar power, are often dry.
• Electrolyser factories: India needs to make electrolysers at home. This is why SIGHT funds their manufacture.

Where it occurs

• Who runs it and since when: MNRE, from January 2023, across all of India.
• Green Hydrogen Hubs (October 2025) [1][2]:

Port (official name)	State	Water body	Why this place
Deendayal Port, Kandla	Gujarat	Gulf of Kachchh, Arabian Sea	West coast; close to the solar and wind belt of Gujarat and Rajasthan
Paradip Port	Odisha	Bay of Bengal, Mahanadi delta	East coast; near the refinery and steel belt
V.O. Chidambaranar Port, Thoothukudi (Tuticorin)	Tamil Nadu	Gulf of Mannar	South-east coast; close to Tamil Nadu's wind farms

• Progress at Kandla:
• In 2025 a megawatt-scale, made-in-India green hydrogen plant started working. It cost about ₹13 crore and can make nearly 140 tonnes a year [2][3].

• A ₹42 crore, 750 m³ green methanol bunkering and refuelling facility is being built. Bunkering means filling ships with fuel. It will support a Coastal Green Shipping Corridor between Kandla and Tuticorin [2].

• Where the demand is: refineries and fertiliser plants across India, which today mostly use grey hydrogen. Also the steel belt near Paradip.

Don't confuse with

• Grey hydrogen: made from natural gas (methane) by steam reforming, and it releases a lot of CO₂. Green hydrogen is made from water by electrolysis using renewable power. Most hydrogen used in Indian refineries and fertiliser plants today is grey.
• Green Energy Corridor (GEC, 2015): a power transmission network that carries renewable electricity from states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka into the national grid. It moves electricity. It does not make hydrogen.
• SIGHT vs NGHM: NGHM is the whole Mission. SIGHT is only its money-support part, for making electrolysers and producing green hydrogen.
• Green ammonia / green methanol: these are fuels or products made from green hydrogen. They are not other names for it. Green methanol is the fuel for the Kandla bunkering facility [2].

Prelims Hooks

• NGHM: January 2023; ₹19,744 crore; MNRE; target of 5 MMT a year by 2030 with about 125 GW of linked renewables [1].
• SIGHT = Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition. It funds electrolyser manufacture and green hydrogen production.
• India's Green Hydrogen Standard (2023): at most 2 kg CO₂ per kg H₂, counting water treatment, electrolysis, purification, drying and compression.
• Hub port–state pairs (October 2025): Deendayal/Kandla – Gujarat; Paradip – Odisha; V.O. Chidambaranar/Thoothukudi – Tamil Nadu [1]. Trap: Kandla is on the Gulf of Kachchh, not the Gulf of Khambhat.
• Kandla: made-in-India megawatt-scale plant of about 140 tonnes a year (2025) [2][3]. It also has a green methanol bunkering facility for the Kandla–Tuticorin Coastal Green Shipping Corridor [2].
• R&D: ₹400 crore scheme with 23 projects, plus a ₹100 crore start-up call in 2025 (up to ₹5 crore per project) [4].

Mains Points

• Green hydrogen as an industrial strategy (GS-III):
• It cuts emissions in "hard-to-abate" sectors (sectors that electricity alone cannot clean up): refining, fertiliser, steel and shipping.
• It lowers gas and ammonia imports, saving about ₹1 lakh crore by 2030 [1].

• The port hubs at Kandla, Paradip and Thoothukudi bring production, use and export together on the coast [1][2].

• Geography of where hubs are placed:

• Each hub sits near a renewable or industrial base: the Gujarat–Rajasthan solar and wind belt for Kandla, the refinery and steel belt for Paradip, and Tamil Nadu's wind farms for Thoothukudi.

• Being at a port makes export and ship refuelling easy, which is the idea behind the Kandla–Tuticorin green shipping corridor [2].

• Challenges and responses:

• High cost: green hydrogen is still costlier than grey hydrogen. The response is SIGHT support, plus cheaper solar power and electrolysers over time.
• Water stress: the best solar regions are often dry, but electrolysis needs water.
• Manufacturing gap: India has limited capacity to make electrolysers. The response is SIGHT funding for home manufacture and the ₹400 crore R&D push [4].

Related concepts

• Green hydrogen
• Green Energy Corridor
• Non-fossil share of power capacity
• Just energy transition
• International Solar Alliance
• One Sun One World One Grid

Read more

• Energy transition: green hydrogen, grids, targets, the International Solar Alliance and conservation