According to a July 21 business filing, Larsen & Toubro subsidiary L&T Energy GreenTech would establish India’s first green hydrogen facility at Indian Oil’s Panipat refinery in Haryana on a build-own-operate basis.

25-Year Deal to Supply 10,000 Tonnes Annually to IOC

An important step in India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, the plant will run continuously on renewable energy to provide 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen to IOC annually for 25 years. Additionally, this supports India’s net-zero goals and fits with IOC’s plan to decarbonise refining processes.

High-pressure alkaline electrolysers manufactured at L&T Electrolysers in Hazira will be used in the plant to produce green hydrogen. The action positions LTEG as a major participant in the green hydrogen ecosystem and establishes a standard for widespread industrial usage in fertilisers, refineries, and other industries.

According to L&T President and Deputy Managing Director Subramaniam Sarma, the project strengthens LTEG’s capacity to provide extensive sustainable energy solutions while also strengthening the company’s relationship with IOC.

IOC Enters Green Hydrogen Space with Ambitious Project

In essence, green hydrogen is the gas created when water is split using renewable energy sources. The project is the biggest green hydrogen project in India to date and represents IOC’s first foray into the green hydrogen market.

The green hydrogen generated here will substitute hydrogen sourced from fossil fuels in IOC’s refinery operations, lowering carbon emissions. The project is expected to be put into service by December 2027.

Timeline and Background: From Cancelled Tenders to Execution

Due to the industry’s lack of interest in moving forward with the project, IOC had previously cancelled two tenders. At the desire of the participating companies, the deadline was twice extended to January 2025 after the tender was initially published in September 2024. “This project demonstrates our complete green energy capabilities, from the production of electrolysers to their implementation and operation.

“We are confident in delivering a high-performance, zero-emission plant that sets new industry benchmarks thanks to our skilled team and state-of-the-art technology,” stated Derek Shah, Head of Green Manufacturing & Development at L&T.

Other Players Fueling India’s Green Hydrogen Revolution

The renewable energy-focused ACME Group announced in June that it would construct a green hydrogen plant in the Tata Steel Special Economic Zone (Tata SEZ) in the Gopalpur Industrial Estate of Odisha, with the goal of producing 400,000 tonnes of green ammonia by 2029. In order to deliver all 400,000 tonnes of green ammonia produced from the facility starting in 2029, the business has teamed with IHI Corporation of Japan.

In June, Toyota Kirloskar Motor also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ohmium International, a top supplier of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) based in Newark, California. The two companies will work together to develop hydrogen-based solutions by combining Toyota’s PEM fuel cell modules with Ohmium’s state-of-the-art PEM electrolysers, as well as to explore possible partnership opportunities to harmonise advanced fuel cell technology with Ohmium’s hyper-modular and efficient system designs.

Government Backing: Policy, Funding, and Trials Underway

Green hydrogen is thought to be essential to India’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070. Prahlad Joshi, the Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, and Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, officially opened Tata Motors’ first-ever testing of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty vehicles in New Delhi in March.

With INR 500 crore set aside for this purpose, the government intends to encourage hydrogen fuel trials, with cooperation from businesses like Ashok Leyland, Volvo, Reliance, and Hindustan Petroleum, among others.