India’s Clean Energy Leadership in Green Hydrogen

By Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri, Distinguished Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

India has become a global leader in making progress on clean energy. By the end of December 2025, non-fossil fuel sources accounted for 51.93 per cent of India’s installed power capacity, crossing the 50 per cent mark set by India’s second Nationally Determined Contribution. According to IRENA’s Renewable Energy Statistics 2025, India ranks fourth globally in total installed renewable energy capacity.

India’s energy transition must be understood in relation to its development needs. The country has not yet reached peak energy demand, and energy access, affordability and security remain central to its development pathway. Its development strategy therefore combines renewable energy growth, energy efficiency, nuclear power, green hydrogen, carbon sinks and carbon markets with industrial competitiveness and job creation.

Green hydrogen has emerged as an important facet of this strategy because it can support decarbonisation in sectors where direct electrification may not be sufficient. Green hydrogen is both a fuel and an industrial feedstock, and its production using renewable energy can replace fossil fuel-derived inputs in petroleum refining, fertiliser production, steel manufacturing and other hard-to-abate sectors. It can also support the decarbonisation of long-haul automobiles, railways and marine vessels. The Indian Railways has recently demonstrated the capacity to run hydrogen-fuelled trains.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission provides the central policy framework for scaling up this opportunity, linking the energy transition with industrial policy and external economic opportunities. It targets the production of 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030. Production capacity of 862,000 tonnes per year has already been allocated to 18 companies, while 15 firms have been awarded 3,000 MW of annual electrolyser manufacturing capacity.

Three green hydrogen hubs have also been identified at the Deendayal Port Authority in Gujarat, the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in Tamil Nadu and the Paradip Port Authority in Odisha.

A sectoral focus is connecting green hydrogen with concrete industrial use cases. In fertilisers, data indicates an aggregate procurement capacity of 7.24 lakh metric tonnes per annum of green ammonia at ₹55.75 per kg. In petroleum refining, green hydrogen is being used to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry, while in steel, five pilot projects involving public and private producers are testing green hydrogen for iron reduction and other process applications under Indian operating conditions.

India’s green hydrogen strategy also has a clear international dimension, with the country looking to use voluntary cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This international orientation is consequential because green hydrogen is expected to become part of future clean energy trade.

Thus, India’s green hydrogen effort not only responds to domestic decarbonisation needs but also positions the country to contribute to the rules, markets and supply chains of a future low-carbon economy.

India is also positioning itself in emerging international hydrogen platforms and partnerships. It entered the international hydrogen community at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam in 2024 with its first India Pavilion.

Cooperation is expanding under the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, where more than 30 joint proposals have been received on hydrogen production from waste. India and the United Kingdom have engaged on hydrogen standardisation, while work is being undertaken with Germany on market-based mechanisms and joint tender designs for exports.

Moreover, Indian companies have secured long-term offtake agreements with Japanese companies for green ammonia and green methanol.

India has been at the forefront of promoting solar energy in the Global South, not only through its advocacy but also through the demonstrative effect of its domestic action. Its proactive actions on green hydrogen could have a similarly hugely positive effect across the Global South.

Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri is a former Indian diplomat who has served as Ambassador to the European Union (EU), Nepal, Belgium and Luxembourg. He has also served as India’s Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

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