Green Hydrogen Production Pathways for India: A Roadmap for Sustainable Energy

India stands at a crucial crossroads where its rising energy demands must align with its climate commitments.

As the world’s fastest-growing major economy and the thirdlargest carbon emitter, India faces a dual challenge: meeting the rising energy demands of 1.45 billion people while cutting its carbon footprint.

Unlike grey hydrogen, produced using fossil fuels, or blue hydrogen, which relies on carbon capture, green hydrogen
is produced using renewable energy to split water molecules through electrolysis, ensuring zero carbon emissions.

Green hydrogen has emerged as a promising pathway for India to achieve its goal of becoming energy independent while moving towards net-zero emissions by 2070 Green hydrogen is so powerful, as it is clean at source, clean
in use and versatile enough to power industries, mobility and even households in the future.

Pathways for India to produce Green Hydrogen...

1. Renewable energy-based electrolysis: By installing large-scale solar farms and wind parks connected to electrolyzers, India can directly convert clean electricity into green hydrogen. Co-locating these facilities reduces transmission losses and improves economic viability.

2. Biomass gasification: India’s agriculture sector produces huge amounts of biomass waste, much of which is burned, adding to air pollution and carbon emissions. Instead, this waste can be harnessed to produce hydrogen through gasification. When coupled with carbon capture and storage, this method can deliver net-zero or even negative emissions, making it a smart transitional solution.

3. Hybrid renewable systems: combining solar by day and wind by night — to ensure round-the-clock electricity supply for electrolyzers. This hybrid approach tackles the biggest hurdle of renewables: intermittency. With better storage and grid integration, India can keep hydrogen production steady throughout the year.

4. Decentralised production: Small-scale green hydrogen units can power local industries, refuelling stations for heavy transport, or even remote villages, turning India’s energy transition into a truly inclusive movement.

Challenges and Opportunities:

1. Cost Competitiveness: The current cost of green hydrogen is higher than fossil-derived hydrogen, mainly due to the price of electrolyzers and renewable power. However, as renewable tariffs continue to fall and electrolyzer manufacturing scales up (including “Make in India” initiatives), prices are expected to drop significantly.

2. Infrastructure: Building a robust hydrogen supply chain—from production to storage, transport, and distribution—requires coordinated policy support, investments, and innovation.

3. Water Use: Electrolysis requires pure water and given India’s water stress in some regions, integrating water recycling and desalination will be crucial.

Despite these challenges, India’s demographic and geographic advantages, coupled with strong policy momentum, position it well to become a global leader in green hydrogen. The government’s National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to make India a hub for hydrogen production and export, targeting 5 million tonnes of annual green hydrogen output
by 2030.

To harness the full potential of green hydrogen, India must:
• Accelerate R&D: For advancing electrolyzers and lowcost renewable integration.
• Incentivize pilot projects: As public-private partnerships across strategic industries
• Develop international collaborations: For joint ventures, technology transfer and trade.

In Nut shell, Green hydrogen production pathways offer India a transformative opportunity—cleaner industries, new
jobs, improved energy security and leadership in the global green economy.

With the right mix of innovation, investment, and policy support, India can turn its green hydrogen vision into reality, paving the way for a sustainable and prosperous future.