Indian oil refining companies have committed to producing at least two lakh tonnes of green hydrogen within the next five years for their own consumption, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Santosh Kumar Sarangi told Moneycontrol.
The announcement is significant as it marks the resolution of a long-standing tussle between key ministries over whether to impose mandatory green hydrogen consumption obligation (GHCO) on refineries. While MNRE had pushed for an early mandate to accelerate demand creation under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry had argued for a phased, market-driven transition given cost and technology constraints.
"While refineries have committed to produce 2 lakh tonnes of green hydrogen for their self consumption, fertilizer plants in India have assured the consumption of 7.24 lakh tonnes of green ammonia. Creating domestic demand for NGHM is our focus, but we are also looking at expanding export opportunities, especially in European countries," Sarangi told Moneycontrol on the sidelines of the International Conference on Green Hydrogen in India, 2025.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is developing large-scale green hydrogen plants at its Panipat, Mathura, and Paradip refineries, including a 10 kilo-tonnes per annum (KTPA) project at Panipat—one of the largest announced in the country.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is setting up green hydrogen production units at its Bina, Kochi, and Mumbai refineries, with Bina emerging as a key hub under the government’s Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is establishing green hydrogen facilities at its Visakhapatnam and Mumbai refineries, aimed at partially replacing grey hydrogen currently used in hydrocracking and desulphurisation processes.
Indian refineries are among the country’s largest consumers of grey hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas or naphtha through steam methane reforming, a process that emits significant amounts of carbon dioxide. Nearly all hydrogen currently used in India’s refining sector—estimated at over 2 million tonnes annually—is grey, and is primarily consumed for hydrocracking and desulphurisation processes needed to produce cleaner fuels like petrol and diesel.
Transitioning even a fraction of this demand to green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy through electrolysis, could substantially reduce emissions and position refineries as early movers in India’s broader industrial decarbonisation push.
As per the latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, by 2030, India has committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP (emissions relative to the GDP) by 45 percent (from the 2005 level), and fuelling about 50 percent of its installed power capacity by non-fossil fuel-based resources. It also aims to achieve net zero by 2070.
Accordingly, the Union Cabinet approved the NGHM on January 4 with an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore, including Rs 17,490 crore for incentives. The government aims to produce at least 5 MMT of green hydrogen annually by 2030 under the NGHM, which would require 60-100 GW of electrolyser capacity and 125 GW of renewable energy capacity. This initiative is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 MMT per year.
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