In January, India launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to make it a global hub for green hydrogen manufacturing and exports, and is expected to build 5 million tonnes per year of green hydrogen capacity by 2030.

India plans to become a producer and exporter of green hydrogen by 2030 and is currently in discussions with domestic and foreign investors to facilitate financing of domestic clean energy projects, according to Icis, a market information service provider for the global energy and chemical industry.

The Indian government has approved 48 proposals from various industries, which will have a green hydrogen capacity of 3.5 million tons per year by 2030. The projects involved in the proposals are part of India's National Green Hydrogen Mission, which was launched in January this year, and the capital expenditure will amount to 19.74 billion rupees (about 17.23 billion yuan). The plan, which aims to make India a global hub for green hydrogen manufacturing and exports, envisages the establishment of 5 million tonnes/year of green hydrogen capacity by 2030 in order for India to achieve its net zero emissions target by 2070.

India is also inviting global private companies to invest in its green hydrogen projects. A senior official at India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said government loans and subsidies would reduce the cost of green hydrogen production and help India provide green hydrogen at competitive prices in export markets.

India is currently discussing a possible deal to supply more than 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen to the EU, while the EU invests in clean energy projects in India. The potential India-EU deal could allow EU companies to earn carbon credits by investing in renewable energy projects in India.

To help India meet its green hydrogen production goals, the World Bank said in a statement in June that it had approved a $1.5 billion loan to finance low-carbon energy development in the country. The financing will help India scale up renewable energy projects. "This initiative will support the successful implementation of India's National Green Hydrogen Mission, stimulating $100 billion in private sector investment by 2030," said World Bank Country Director for India August.

Many large companies in India, especially refineries, have announced the upcoming construction of green hydrogen projects. Reliance, which aims to be carbon neutral by 2035, is building an integrated project to make electrolyzers, batteries and other equipment needed to produce green hydrogen. India's state-owned refiner has announced plans to produce 30,800 tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030. Indian Oil Corp, the country's largest state-owned refiner, plans to start operating a 7,000-tonne per annum green hydrogen production facility in Banibird, Haryana, by 2026. Future plans include the construction of green hydrogen production units at all of its refineries. Bharat Petroleum plans to build an electrolysis plant to produce green hydrogen. Hindustan Petroleum is building a green hydrogen plant at its Visakhapatnam refinery with a capacity of 7,300 tonnes per year by 2025. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Co., Ltd. expects to start production of a 500 tPA green hydrogen pilot plant by 2024, while Numaligarh Refinery plans to start up a 5,000 tpa green hydrogen plant in Assam by 2030. Chennai Petroleum Limited will start production of 1,000 tons/year green hydrogen plant by 2027.

Indian states are also finalising plans to encourage green hydrogen production. The state of Maharashtra introduced its Green hydrogen policy in July, which aims to provide concessions and allocate land for green hydrogen projects. Gujarat has allocated large tracts of land for green hydrogen projects, while Orissa, Kerala and Karnataka are also planning to set up green hydrogen centres. Editor/Xu Shengpeng