Hydrogen use to help lower India’s oil imports by Rs1 lakh crore by 2030

India’s Green Hydrogen Mission has set a target of 5 million tonne annual production of green hydrogen by 2030, which would help reduce the country’s fossil fuel imports by Rs1 lakh crore, minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said.

Addressing the second International Conference on Green Hydrogen, the minister said India has taken a major step with state-owned oil and gas companies like Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) announcing new initiatives to boost Green Hydrogen production in the country.

He said the public sector undertakings (PSUs) under the ministry of petroleum and natural gas are in the process of floating tenders for capacity addition on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis, with an initial capacity of ~42 kilo tons per annum (KTPA), which is expected to rise to 165 KTPA.

GAIL has already set up a 4.3 tons per day (TPD) plant in Vijaipur, Madhya Pradesh, for producing hydrogen using a 10 MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Electrolyze, he said.

Besides, the minister said that Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to develop a green hydrogen plant.

He said government policy supports investment in green hydrogen projects through incentives such as a 25-year waiver of inter-state transmission charges for projects commissioned before June 2025. 

With an initial allocation of Rs19,744 crore, the National Green Hydrogen Mission is expected to attract investments totalling more than Rs8 lakh crore and generate over 6 lakh jobs. 

He said that petroleum refineries account for around 54 per cent of the country's hydrogen consumption, adding that the ministry is promoting uptake of green hydrogen in city gas distribution systems. 

The minister said several states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu are developing policies to further incentivize green hydrogen usage.

With abundant natural resources, availability of low-cost solar energy and a robust infrastructure, India is set to become a key player in the green hydrogen sector, Puri added.