-IH2A proposes 10% HPO for existing Refinery, Ammonia Plants; 100% HPO for new plants by 2030-

-HPOs for 47 Refinery, Ammonia Plants can create 1.5 MT hydrogen demand by 2030, NGHM domestic target-

-NGHM 2030 targets, USD 80 bn hydrogen investments at risk without HPOs, Demand Side Support-

Mumbai/Delhi, May 8, 2025 – India Hydrogen Alliance (“IH2A”) has made a formal submission to the Government of India proposing Hydrogen Purchase Obligations (HPOs) and Demand Side support for Refineries and Ammonia Plants, 10% HPO for existing plants and 100% HPO for new plants by 2030, to achieve the NGHM 2030 target of 1.5 MT green hydrogen for domestic use in India. IH2A has submitted that without HPOs and adequate offtake and demand creation, NGHM 2030 targets and combined hydrogen-related investments worth USD 80 bn are at risk.

India’s installed electrolyser base is currently <40 MW producing 10,600 MTPA of green hydrogen, which accounts for <1% of NGHM 2030 target of 1.5 MMT for domestic consumption. IH2A has, in its submission to the Government of India, stated that HPOs are critical for meeting NGHM 2030 targets and protecting the public announced hydrogen-related investments in excess of USD 80 bn in India. According to IH2A, without HPOs and Demand Support, planned hydrogen plants and supply projects risk becoming stranded assets.

IH2A has proposed HPOs to replace current grey hydrogen industrial offtake with green hydrogen, as feedstock in Refinery and Ammonia sectors, across 47 existing and proposed plants in India. The IH2A proposed HPOs are divided into the following:

1.Aggregated Industrial hydrogen Offtake in 39 Existing Domestic Projects, across 17 Refineries and 22 Ammonia plants, through a 10% HPO to meet 45% NGHM target by 2030 (672,000 MT).

2.Accelerated Industrial hydrogen Offtake in 8 New Build / Expansion projects across 5 Refinery & 3 Fertilizers plants, through 100% HPOs to meet 55% NGHM target by 2030 (849,000 MT)

Amrit Singh Deo, IH2A Secretariat lead, said, “The Government should consider mandatory Hydrogen Purchase Obligations (HPOs) to induce industrial domestic hydrogen offtake in Refineries and Ammonia sectors to meet NGHM 2030 targets. Mandated HPOs can replicate the success of RPOs from the Renewable Energy sector . Without HPOs and demand support, the combined announced USD 80 bn hydrogen related investments are at risk. Refineries and Fertilizers should have a Common Hydrogen Use and Demand Roadmap to aggregate demand and procure green hydrogen volumes of at least 10% till 2030. Once HPOs are introduced, India can look at the Japan Contract-for-Difference (CfD) framework to part-fund the green hydrogen transition by Refinery and Ammonia sector by 2030, and reduce carbon emissions in these two hard-to-abate sectors.”

IH2A estimates that an additional budget allocation for a USD 2 bn CfD framework, for refineries and fertilizers, can support the transition of all existing refinery and fertilizer plants to 10% HPO offtake and all new plants to 100% HPO offtake by 2030.

India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A)'s analysis shows a 10% Hydrogen Purchase Obligations (HPOs) for 39 existing sites, 17 refineries and 22 ammonia plants would contribute 672,000 tonnes, or 45% of India’s 2030 green hydrogen target. For new or expanded plants, IH2A recommends the government a 100% HPO to deliver the remaining 849,000 tonnes.

Day 2 of the PtX Green Shipping training began with a presentation by Ms. Kerban Billimoria Rajdeo, India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A).

Ms. Rajdeo highlighted that the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) collaborates extensively with the private sector and has strongly advocated for the creation of #GreenHydrogenHubs (each hub encouraged to integrate multiple sectors for optimal hydrogen usage) for supporting the ecosystem since 2022.

She shared key takeaways from the whitepaper published by IH2A last year, titled “Hydrogen Derivatives and Low Carbon Fuel Assessment 2025–30.” She also made a case for adopting low-carbon maritime fuels for coastal shipping in #India.

An insightful panel discussion on "New and Emerging Areas in Clean Energy" at the India Infrastructure Forum 2025.

“Compressed biogas has received significant policy focus lately. SATAT scheme has been a big growth driver in this respect, where oil marketing companies are now offtaking CBG. Blending of CBG in CNG is also encouraging growth. However, challenges still exist in terms of technology risks, feedstock uncertainty and financing.” - Nayantara Nag, Partner, Trilegal

“There is no single silver bullet to achieve clean energy transition. We need a mixture of various clean energy resources to reach our net zero targets. Certain sectors need to be identified as priorities for decarbonisation. Climate finance taxonomy, is thus, going to be a key priority for the clean energy sector now.” - Sourabh Mukherjee, Executive Vice-President - Clean Energy and Sustainability, Tata Projects

“Bulk of grey hydrogen is currently going towards fertilisers and refineries. India has a target of 5 MMT of annual green hydrogen production by 2030, which looks quite challenging, considering very few projects are under construction and under FID stage. Demand side measures are required to encourage the development of a domestic market.” - Prasanto Kumar Roy, India Hydrogen Alliance and MD, FTI Consulting

Green Hydrogen's Moment of Truth?

India uses over 7 million tonnes of hydrogen a year, almost all of it from fossil-fuel sources. Green hydrogen is a fraction of one percent of that total, over two years into the National Green Hydrogen Mission, making the Mission's FY30 target of 5MMT of green hydrogen very challenging. The right policy intervention can change this, said India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A)'s Prasanto Kumar Roy in his opening keynote at the Conference on Green Hydrogen in India on April 22 in New Delhi.

A mere 1-2% GH2 mandate for the Petroleum and Fertilizer sectors would move the needle immediately, and a 5% mandate could transform India's decarbonization journey.

Hydrogen Purchase Obligations (HPOs) could do to the green hydrogen economy what RPOs did for the solar industry, and help unlock the $4–5 billion in funding on the table from multilaterals like European Investment Bank (EIB) and The World Bank, to support the growth of India’s green hydrogen sector.

India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) welcomes Upendra Tripathy as Honorary Global Advisor to accelerate India’s green hydrogen transition.

With over four decades of leadership in renewable energy policy and implementation, Mr Tripathy brings unparalleled expertise to advance India’s green hydrogen ecosystem, focusing on demand creation and large-scale commercialization.

We look forward to working with him to drive innovation, collaboration, and sustainable growth in India’s clean energy future.

India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) shared insights on developing green hydrogen and ammonia hubs in India, with coastal shipping driving methanol & ammonia adoption at the Green Shipping Business Roundtable in Mumbai organized by Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. The event saw the participation of large shipping companies, funding organizations, Embassy of Denmark in India, TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute, among others.

India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) was glad to partner for hashtag#IndiaEnergyWeek2025 organized by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Govt of India. The conclave highlighted India's strong momentum toward energy transition, showcasing an impressive mix and key focus on green hydrogen.

We have released ‘Low-Carbon eFuels & Heavy Duty Transport Decarbonization Report 2025-2030’. The report is based on a scenario and assumption of a Low-Carbon Coastal Shipping fleet of 22 Green Methanol powered, and 22 Green Ammonia-powered vessels; a Low-Carbon Heavy Duty Trucking Fleet of 30 Green Methanol fueled, 30 Green Ammonia fueled and 30 Green Hydrogen trucks transport and 1-3% SAF blending on 122 flights (domestic/international) by 2030.

The findings make a case for India to build Low-Carbon eFuels Hubs and Low-Carbon Heavy Duty Transport Corridors along India’s coasts. Key takeaways include:
-SAF blending is the quickest, short-term solution for decarbonizing aviation.
Coastal shipping will drive e-fuel demand.
-Significant CAPEX is needed for green fleets & refueling infrastructure.
-Strategic Green Fuel Hubs along India’s coasts will minimize infrastructure costs.
-Cross-border partnerships with Singapore & the EU are crucial for eFuel adoption.
-Strategic partnerships and incentives for fleet owners will be key to accelerating the transition to low-carbon heavy-duty transport.

Six new members have joined us in our commitment to develop the green hydrogen economy in India: Worley, Trilegal, Cochin Shipyard Limited, Jindal Renewables, HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited and Sumitomo Corporation India.