Examine how certification and standards shape India's ambition to become a global green hydrogen export hub.

Green hydrogen is chemically the same as grey hydrogen. Only its production route makes it "green", so what India exports is really a carbon claim that buyers must be able to check. The Green Hydrogen Standard (Aug 2023) and the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India (GHCI, Apr 2025) therefore give the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) its access to export markets [1][2].

How standards and certification help exports

• One clear definition: hydrogen counts as green at ≤2 kg CO₂e per kg H₂, measured well-to-gate and averaged over 12 months. Biomass routes also qualify. This gives foreign buyers a single benchmark to check against [1][2].
• Checks buyers can audit: BEE accredits the certifying agencies. A Final Certificate is mandatory for plants that receive incentives or that sell or use hydrogen in India [2].
• Access to markets: credible certification is a precondition for entering markets like the EU [2].
• Standards diplomacy: the India–UK workshop on Regulations, Codes and Standards (Feb 2025), the SECI–H2Global (Germany) MoU on joint tender designs, and 30+ joint proposals under the EU–India TTC [2].
• Investor confidence: clear rules support the port hubs at Kandla, Tuticorin and Paradip and the Sembcorp (Singapore) port MoUs [2].

Limitations

• Yearly averaging: high-emission hours on the coal-heavy grid can be offset by cleaner hours later. Importers that check emissions hour by hour may not accept Indian certificates alone [1].
• No mutual recognition yet: workshops and MoUs are platforms for talks. They are not agreements to accept each other's certificates [2].
• A label cannot lower cost: the price of green hydrogen depends on cheap renewable power. Open Access and banking are controlled by the states, and the ISTS waiver covers only plants commissioned by 31 Dec 2030 [1].

Way forward

• MNRE and BEE should negotiate mutual-recognition agreements, building on the India–UK standards talks [2].
• Offer an optional stricter, time-matched certification tier for plants that produce for export.
• Use what SECI learns from H2Global to design export tenders [2].
• Centre and states should agree on time-bound Open Access [1].

Standards have made Indian green hydrogen a verifiable product that can be traded. Their export value now depends on recognition abroad. If GHCI is aligned with partner countries' methods and Centre–state coordination keeps power cheap, the 5 MMT by 2030 target [1] can serve both net zero by 2070 and SDGs 7 and 13.