India’s junior oil minister Rameswar Teli on Monday said the country would make it obligatory for refiners and fertilizer plants to use some green hydrogen as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Teli told lawmakers that the policy will be implemented gradually, noting that India has yet to domestically produce green hydrogen on a commercial scale due to high production costs.
Under the draft policy, India wants green hydrogen to account for 10% of refiners’ total hydrogen requirement from 2023/2024 and increase it to 25% in the following years. The respective target for the fertilizer industry is 5% and 20%. Fertilizer minister Mansukh Mandaviya in July said the use of green hydrogen should reduce the sector’s imports of ammonia and natural gas.
Green hydrogen refers to a zero-carbon fuel produced in a process called electrolysis which uses renewable power to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Power minister R. K. Singh said that India’s draft hydrogen policy is still under ministerial consultation. The policy aims to increase domestic green hydrogen output and promote its use across sectors, including transportation.
