Representatives from India’s Hydrogen manufacturers have requested the centre to introduce Hydrogen Purchase Obligations (HPOs) and Demand Side support for Refineries and Ammonia Plants. A similar approach was adopted for promoting solar and wind energy in the country through renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) on power consumers.

In a statement, the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) said it is seeking a 10% HPO for existing plants and 100% HPO for new plants by 2030. This will help achieve the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) 2030 target of 1.5 million tonnes (MT) green hydrogen for domestic use in India. “Without HPOs and adequate offtake and demand creation, NGHM 2030 targets and combined hydrogen-related investments worth $ 80 billion are at risk,” IH2A statement said.

India’s installed electrolyser base is currently less than 40 megawatts (MW) producing 10,600 MTPA of green hydrogen. IH2A said this is less than 1% of NGHM 2030 target of 1.5 MMT for domestic consumption. According to the industry body, without HPOs and Demand Support, planned hydrogen plants and supply projects risk becoming stranded assets.

IH2A has proposed HPOs to replace current grey hydrogen industrial offtake with green hydrogen, as feedstock in Refinery and Ammonia sectors, across 47 existing and proposed plants in India, the statement added.