Green Hydrogen

1. At a Glance

• Green hydrogen is hydrogen made by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. It is the same molecule as fossil-based hydrogen; what differs is the production route and carbon footprint [1].
• Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not a primary energy source. It stores and delivers energy, and in a fuel cell it combines with oxygen to give electricity, leaving only water and heat [1].
• It matters most in hard-to-abate sectors where direct electrification is difficult: fertiliser, refining, steel, heavy transport and shipping [1].
• India's flagship programme is the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), run by MNRE. Its target is 5 MMT a year by 2030, and it supports India's 2070 net-zero goal [1][2].

2. Why in the News

• 28 Oct 2026: PIB published an explainer on green hydrogen and the NGHM alongside ESTIC-2026, whose agenda covers green hydrogen technology [1].
• Oct 2025: MNRE recognised three major ports as Green Hydrogen Hubs: Deendayal (Kandla, Gujarat), V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu) and Paradip (Odisha) [2].
• Sep 2025: India's first port-based green hydrogen pilot was commissioned at V.O. Chidambaranar Port [2].
• Apr 2025: the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India (GHCI) was launched [1][2].
• A green ammonia auction for fertiliser units discovered a price of ₹55.75/kg for 7.24 lakh MT a year [2].

3. Background & Evolution

• Rationale: cut fossil fuel imports, decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, make India an export hub for green hydrogen and its derivatives (green ammonia, green methanol), and support net zero by 2070 [1][2].
• Milestones in order:
• Jan 2023: the Union Cabinet approved the NGHM with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore up to FY 2029–30 [1][2].
• Aug 2023: MNRE notified the Green Hydrogen Standard, with a ceiling of ≤2 kg CO₂e per kg H₂, measured well-to-gate as a 12-month average [1].
• 2024: India's first India Pavilion opened at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, its debut on the international hydrogen stage [2].
• Nov 2024: NTPC commissioned the world's highest-altitude green hydrogen mobility project at Leh (3,650 m), with 5 buses and a fuelling station. In the same month, SECI signed an MoU with Germany's H2Global Stiftung [2].
• Feb 2025: an India–UK Standards Partnership Workshop was held on hydrogen Regulations, Codes and Standards (RCS) [2].
• Mar 2025: five road-transport pilots began [2].
• Apr 2025: GHCI launched [1][2].
• May 2025: 862,000 TPA of production capacity and 3,000 MW a year of electrolyser manufacturing capacity had been allocated [2].
• Sep–Oct 2025: the VOC Port pilot was commissioned, the three port hubs were recognised, and Sembcorp (Singapore) signed MoUs with the VOC and Paradip port authorities [2].

4. Core Static Facts

Key terms [1]:

• Electrolysis: hydrogen forms at the cathode and oxygen at the anode. A diaphragm keeps the gases apart, and the electrolyte carries ions.
• Open Access: buying renewable power from someone other than the local DISCOM.
• Banking: storing surplus power as a credit to use later.
• HVICs (Hydrogen Valley Innovation Clusters): co-locating production, consumption and infrastructure, because hydrogen is hard to transport.
• Green steel: in the DRI (direct reduced iron) route, hydrogen replaces coal to strip oxygen from iron ore, so the by-product is water vapour instead of CO₂.

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• Aims to save more than ₹1 lakh crore in fossil fuel imports and attract more than ₹8 lakh crore of investment [2].
• SIGHT supports domestic electrolyser manufacturing: 15 firms have been awarded 3,000 MW a year, which builds a supply chain for exports [2].
• Price discovery for green ammonia at ₹55.75/kg makes future fertiliser procurement contracts possible [2].
• Hubs at ports give economies of scale and make projects viable [1][2].

Environmental

• Using hydrogen emits no CO₂, so its climate value depends entirely on how it is produced. That is why the 2 kg CO₂e ceiling matters [1].
• The mission targets about 50 MMT of GHG emissions avoided each year by 2030 [2].
• It replaces gas-based hydrogen in urea and ammonia production and in refineries, and coal in DRI steelmaking [1][2].

Scientific / Technological

• R&D: the ₹400 crore scheme funds 23 projects. A ₹100 crore call for start-up proposals offers up to ₹5 crore per project [2].
• Sector pilots: 5 steel pilots; 5 road-transport pilots with 37 vehicles (15 FCEV + 22 H₂-ICE), 9 refuelling stations, 10 routes and about ₹208 crore of support [2].
• The VOC Port pilot cost ₹25 crore and produces 10 Nm³/hr. A ₹42 crore, 750 m³ green methanol bunkering facility is planned there [2].

Geopolitical / Strategic

• Export positioning: the SECI–H2Global (Germany) MoU on joint tender designs; over 30 joint proposals on hydrogen from waste under the EU–India Trade and Technology Council; Sembcorp (Singapore) port MoUs [2].
• Credible certification under GHCI is a precondition for entering export markets such as the EU [1][2].
• Less dependence on imported LNG and ammonia improves energy security [2].

Administrative / Governance

• Several agencies are involved: MNRE as nodal ministry, BEE for accreditation, SECI for tenders, port authorities for hubs, and NTPC for pilots [2].
• Enabling measures include the ISTS waiver, time-bound grant of Open Access and banking [1][2].
• Skills: more than 5,600 trainees certified in hydrogen-related qualifications [2].
• Open issues: actual production lags the capacity that has been allocated; the cost gap with grey hydrogen remains; and Open Access approval is controlled by the states.

Social

• About 6 lakh jobs are projected [2].
• Port and coastal hubs in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha could drive regional development [2].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• May 2025: 19 companies had been allocated 862,000 TPA of green hydrogen production capacity, and 15 firms awarded 3,000 MW a year of electrolyser manufacturing capacity [2].
• Apr 2025: GHCI launched; BEE named nodal accreditation authority [1][2].
• Sep 2025: India's first port-based green hydrogen pilot commissioned at V.O. Chidambaranar Port [2].
• Oct 2025: Kandla, Tuticorin and Paradip ports recognised as Green Hydrogen Hubs. In the same month, Sembcorp signed MoUs with the VOC and Paradip port authorities [2].
• 2025: green ammonia auction for fertiliser units, 7.24 lakh MT a year at ₹55.75/kg [2].
• Coastal Green Shipping Corridor: planned between Kandla and Tuticorin [2].
• 28 Oct 2026: PIB explainer published alongside ESTIC-2026 [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• NGHM was approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2023. Nodal ministry: MNRE (not MoPNG) [1].
• NGHM outlay is ₹19,744 crore, of which ₹17,490 crore goes to SIGHT [1][2].
• SIGHT stands for Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition [1].
• SHIP stands for Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership, the public-private R&D framework [1][2].
• India defines green hydrogen as ≤2 kg CO₂e per kg H₂, well-to-gate, averaged over 12 months (Aug 2023) [1].
• BEE is the nodal authority for accrediting certifying agencies under GHCI (Apr 2025) [1][2].
• The NGHM target is 5 MMT a year by 2030 [1][2].
• The ISTS charge waiver lasts 25 years for plants commissioned by 31 Dec 2030 [1].
• The first three port Green Hydrogen Hubs are Deendayal (Kandla), V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin) and Paradip (Oct 2025) [2].
• India's first port-based green hydrogen pilot is at V.O. Chidambaranar Port (Sep 2025) [2].
• NTPC's project at Leh (3,650 m) is the world's highest-altitude green hydrogen mobility project (Nov 2024) [2].
• In electrolysis, hydrogen forms at the cathode and oxygen at the anode [1].
• The road-transport pilots use 37 vehicles: 15 fuel-cell and 22 H₂-ICE [2].
• The green ammonia auction price was ₹55.75/kg for 7.24 lakh MTPA [2].
• SECI signed an MoU with Germany's H2Global Stiftung in Nov 2024 [2].

8. Allocated Capacity Is Not Hydrogen Produced

• The capacity given out so far covers only about one-sixth of the 2030 target
• By May 2025, 862,000 TPA (tonnes per annum, meaning tonnes a year) of production capacity had been allocated [2].
• The target is 5 MMT a year by 2030 [1]. So 0.862 out of 5 is about 17%.

• Allocated capacity is only a promise to build. It turns into hydrogen only after the plant is built, connected to power, and has a buyer [2].

• A plant gets built only when someone signs a contract to buy its output

• Hydrogen is costly to store and move. That is why the mission groups production and use together in HVICs and port hubs [1].
• So a plant needs a buyer close by before it can borrow money. Building the plant does not create that buyer.

• The green ammonia auction is the clearest case of this working: 7.24 lakh MT a year was contracted at ₹55.75/kg [2]. Steel, refining and shipping have pilots, but no auction of the same kind is listed in the note [2].

• What to watch: do not judge the mission by capacity allocated or MoUs signed. Judge it by tonnes actually produced and tonnes contracted by buyers. The note found no 2026 production figure from MNRE or PIB.

9. Where the ₹19,744 Crore Actually Goes

• Almost nine rupees in every ten go to subsidies, and about two go to research
• SIGHT (the incentive component) gets ₹17,490 crore. That is about 89% of the outlay [2].

• R&D gets ₹400 crore, about 2% [2].

• Why this split matters

• Subsidies make today's technology cheaper to use. Research is what makes it cheaper to build next time.
• Electrolysers and fuel cells depend on critical minerals such as platinum-group metals and nickel. If India does not build its own technology here, the subsidies may end up paying for imported parts and imported know-how.

• The 3,000 MW a year of electrolyser manufacturing given to 15 firms [2] tests this. The question is whether those factories make the core parts in India or only assemble imported ones.

• Mains point: a mission built mainly on subsidies works only while the money lasts. Its success shows when green hydrogen can compete without SIGHT after FY 2029–30 [1][2].

10. Why the States Hold the Key to Cheap Power

• Most of the cost of green hydrogen is the electricity, and the states control the rules for buying it
• Electrolysis runs on renewable power, so the price of power decides the price of hydrogen [1].
• The Centre has waived ISTS (inter-state transmission system) charges, the fee for moving power across state lines [1].

• But Open Access (buying power from someone other than the local DISCOM) and banking (storing surplus power as a credit) are granted by state regulators and DISCOMs [1]. The note already lists state control as an open issue.

• Why a DISCOM may drag its feet

• A large factory that buys its own renewable power stops buying from the DISCOM.
• Big industrial buyers usually pay higher tariffs, and that extra money helps keep farm and household power cheap. When the factory leaves, the DISCOM loses that income.

• So the national mission depends on state bodies that lose money when it succeeds.

• A deadline that could stop new projects

• The ISTS waiver lasts 25 years, but only for plants commissioned by 31 Dec 2030 [1].
• A project that starts late misses the waiver completely. This could cause a rush to commission by 2030 and very few new projects after it.

11. Does the Green Label Mean the Same Thing Abroad?

• India's standard averages emissions over a whole year, not hour by hour
• India counts hydrogen as green if it emits 2 kg CO₂e or less per kg H₂. This is measured well-to-gate (from making the power up to the plant gate) and averaged over 12 months [1].
• Averaging means some high-emission hours can be balanced by cleaner hours later in the year.

• For example, a plant might sometimes run on grid power, which in India is mostly coal power, and still pass if its yearly average stays under the limit.

• Why this matters for exports

• The export plan depends on certificates that foreign buyers accept. The note itself says credible GHCI certification is a precondition for markets like the EU [1][2].
• If an importing country checks emissions with its own, stricter method, an Indian certificate alone may not be enough to sell there.
• The India–UK workshop on Regulations, Codes and Standards [2] is the kind of platform where India can work to get its certificates accepted abroad (mutual recognition).

12. Is Hydrogen Being Pushed Where Batteries Would Do Better?

• The strongest objection
• Making hydrogen from electricity and then turning it back into electricity in a fuel cell wastes energy at each step [1].

• For road vehicles, a battery uses the electricity directly. So critics ask why public money should go to hydrogen buses and trucks at all.

• What is right about it

• The road-transport pilots use 37 vehicles and 9 refuelling stations [2]. That is a test, not a plan to change the whole fleet.

• For cars and city buses, the case for hydrogen over batteries is weak. The note's own list of topics for further study raises the FCEV vs BEV choice.

• Why the mission still stands

• The road-transport pilots get about ₹208 crore, around 1% of the outlay [2]. Most of the mission is aimed elsewhere.
• In fertiliser, refining and DRI steel, hydrogen is a raw material in the chemical process, not just a fuel. A battery cannot do that job [1].
• So the fair conclusion is to put hydrogen where nothing else works, and let batteries take road transport where they compete well. Answers should make this distinction, not praise hydrogen for every use.

13. What MNRE and SECI Can Do Next

• SECI should run auctions for buyers in other industries, using the ammonia auction as the model
• The fertiliser auction produced one clear price, ₹55.75/kg, for a large, steady volume [2].

• Running similar pooled auctions for refineries and steel units would give producers the signed buyers that lenders ask for.

• Use what India is learning from Germany on auction design

• SECI's MoU with H2Global Stiftung covers joint tender designs [2].

• That experience can help India design export tenders and also domestic auctions, so the buyer side is built together with the supply side.

• MNRE should publish actual production, not just allocations

• Reporting tonnes produced and tonnes sold each year, next to the 862,000 TPA allocated [2], would show real progress.

• MNRE and BEE should get India's green certificates accepted abroad

• BEE accredits the certifying agencies under GHCI [1][2].

• Agreements with buyer countries to recognise each other's certificates, building on standards talks like the India–UK workshop [2], would protect the export plan.

• The Centre should push states to grant Open Access on time

• The ISTS waiver helps only if states also give time-bound Open Access and banking [1]. Without the states, the Centre's waiver alone will not bring down the cost of power for these plants.

14. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 862,000 TPA of production capacity allocated by May 2025, about 17% of the 5 MMT target for 2030 [1][2]
• Data: SIGHT takes ₹17,490 crore of the ₹19,744 crore outlay (about 89%); R&D gets ₹400 crore (about 2%) [2]
• Data: the green ammonia auction discovered ₹55.75/kg for 7.24 lakh MT a year, the first price set by buyers rather than the government [2]
• Law/Case: Green Hydrogen Standard for India (MNRE, Aug 2023): 2 kg CO₂e/kg H₂ or less, well-to-gate, 12-month average [1]
• Comparison: Germany's H2Global, whose joint tender designs SECI is working on under a Nov 2024 MoU [2]
• Scheme: the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India (GHCI, Apr 2025), with BEE as accreditor; Indian hydrogen needs these certificates to be sold abroad [1][2]

15. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Infrastructure (energy); Conservation and environmental degradation; Science & Technology developments; Indian economy (industrial policy, investment).
• GS-II: Bilateral and multilateral groupings (EU–India TTC, India–Germany, India–Singapore).
• Possible question stems: 1. Green hydrogen is the key to decarbonising India's hard-to-abate sectors. Discuss the scope and the challenges of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. (250 words) 2. Examine how certification and standards shape India's ambition to become a global green hydrogen export hub. 3. Why are ports emerging as the natural location for green hydrogen hubs? Discuss with Indian examples.

16. Related Topics to Study Next

• Green ammonia and urea self-sufficiency: the largest domestic use of hydrogen is in fertilisers.
• Green steel / DRI route and the EU CBAM: green hydrogen in steel, and export competitiveness under carbon border taxes.
• Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS): a carbon market that complements hydrogen demand creation.
• Updated NDC and Panchamrit (net zero 2070): the climate commitments the mission serves.
• Green Energy Open Access Rules and ISTS waiver: the supply of cheap renewable power for electrolysers.
• Fuel cells vs batteries (FCEV vs BEV): technology choice in heavy mobility.
• Maritime India Vision and green shipping corridors: green methanol and ammonia as bunker fuels.
• Critical minerals (platinum-group metals, nickel): inputs for electrolysers and fuel cells.

17. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Green hydrogen (Economy): The core subject: hydrogen made by electrolysis using renewable power, and how it differs from fossil-based hydrogen.
• National Green Hydrogen Mission (Geography): The flagship programme the note is built around, with its ₹19,744 crore outlay and 5 MMT target.
• Grey hydrogen (Economy): Fossil-based hydrogen is what green hydrogen replaces, and the cost gap with it is a key challenge.
• Net zero (Economy): The mission supports India's 2070 net-zero goal, which is why decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors matters.
• Green steel (Geography): Hydrogen replaces coal in the direct reduced iron route, a major use of green hydrogen.
• Critical minerals (Economy): Electrolysers and fuel cells need platinum-group metals and nickel, which raises supply dependence concerns.

18. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong ministry: NGHM sits with MNRE, not MoPNG or the Ministry of Power. Certifying agencies are accredited by BEE, not BIS [1][2].
• Year confusion: Mission approved Jan 2023; Green Hydrogen Standard Aug 2023; GHCI Apr 2025; port hubs Oct 2025 [1][2].
• NGHM vs SIGHT: NGHM is the umbrella mission (₹19,744 cr). SIGHT is its incentive component (₹17,490 cr) [1].
• Standard scope: the 2 kg CO₂e ceiling is well-to-gate, averaged over 12 months, not per batch. Biomass routes can also qualify [1][2].
• Open Access vs banking: Open Access means buying power from outside the DISCOM. Banking means storing surplus power as a credit [1].
• Allocated is not produced: the 862,000 TPA figure is allocated capacity, not actual output [2].