The centre on Tuesday said it is using production incentives, transmission charge waivers and renewable power reforms to reduce the cost of green hydrogen, as India targets 5 million tonnes of annual output by 2030 under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik said 15 firms have been awarded electrolyser manufacturing capacity of 3,000 MW per year with incentives of ₹4,440 crore, while 18 companies have secured support to produce 8.62 lakh tonnes of green hydrogen annually. Two refineries have been allotted 20,000 tonnes per year under a procurement incentive window.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has also discovered prices for 7.24 lakh tonnes per year of green ammonia — a hydrogen derivative — for supply to 13 fertiliser units, marking one of the largest demand aggregation exercises in the sector.
To moderate operating costs, projects commissioned by December 2030 will be exempt from interstate transmission charges for 25 years. Units in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have been allowed duty benefits for installing and maintaining renewable equipment used exclusively for captive hydrogen production.
The government is relying on expansion of renewable electricity to make green hydrogen more competitive. It has issued standard bidding guidelines for solar, wind and firm dispatchable renewable projects, relaxed domestic manufacturing lists for renewable plants inside SEZs, and allowed 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through the automatic route.
Transmission expansion under the Green Energy Corridor scheme and a grid plan up to 2030 are intended to ensure reliable renewable supply for hydrogen hubs. Officials said the measures would help secure long-term offtake and support industrial decarbonisation while positioning India as a production and export base for green hydrogen and its derivatives.
