A good start for green hydrogen
The Green Hydrogen Policy, announced by the Union power ministry last week, sets India on the path of achieving the goals of the National Hydrogen Mission; the policy targets to produce 5 million tonnes (MT) of green hydrogen per annum by 2030. The government has earlier also talked of aiming to push down the cost of the clean fuel to $1/kg, from the current levels of $3-6.5/kg. As renewable power costs 50-70% of the cost of green hydrogen, the move to waive inter-state transmission charges for green hydrogen producers (GHPs), for projects commissioned before July 2025, should prove a significant leg-up. The new policy may also lead to substantial cost savings as it lets the GHPs to use power from renewable plants set up by them at the location of the hydrogen plant or a remote location, apart from third-party plants and renewable power procured from power exchanges. Allowing banking of renewable power for 30 days will bolster GHPs’ production efficiency, given reduced uncertainty of power supply and the concomitant effects on capacity utilisation of the electrolysers. Several other policy prescriptions such as single-window clearance for all approvals required can also be meaningful boosts to green-hydrogen production.
But, as with many good intentions, these forward-looking proposals may also get limited in scope unless implementation issues are looked at more holistically. For example, states will have a key role to play in the endeavour.
