Green hydrogen is emerging as a crucial technology to decarbonise the hardest-to-abate sectors, such as steel, fertilisers, chemicals and shipping fuels. Despite its potential, green hydrogen today faces challenges of high production costs, limited availability and an underdeveloped supply chain. To achieve India’s ambitious decarbonisation goals and position the country as a global leader in green hydrogen, it is essential to accelerate investment in project development and infrastructure.
To promote the green hydrogen ecosystem, the concept of hydrogen hubs is emerging, which are geographically concentrated networks of hydrogen producers, users and supporting infrastructure. By clustering demand and supply in a single industrial ecosystem, hydrogen hubs can create economies of scale, optimise infrastructure use and reduce costs across the value chain. They can also act as nodal centres, accelerating technology learning, enhancing cooperation among stakeholders and distributing risks across multiple market participants.
For India, hydrogen hubs present a significant opportunity not only to scale up domestic production and usage but also to tap into the emerging export market for green hydrogen and its derivatives. The country’s vast coastline, access to seawater and well-established ports provide a natural advantage for establishing export-oriented hydrogen hubs. Moreover, hubs can play a critical role in overcoming early-stage market barriers by aggregating demand, streamlining supply chains and concentrating infrastructure development in select geographies.
Recognising this potential, the Indian government, under its National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) launched in 2023, has outlined its aim to transform India into a global hub for green hydrogen production, usage and exports. As part of the NGHM, an allocation of Rs 4 billion has been earmarked up to 2025-26 to support the development of hydrogen hubs and related projects.
The success of these hubs will largely hinge on careful location selection. Factors such as proximity to abundant renewable energy resources (solar, wind and hydro), adequate electricity transmission capacity, industrial demand centres and port infrastructure will be critical in determining the viability and competitiveness of each hub.
To this end, at Renewable Watch’s recent conference on “Green Hydrogen in India”, industry leaders shared insights on the hydrogen hubs under development. K. Prem Kumar, Scientist, Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) and Rahul Pataballa, Deputy General Manager (Green Hydrogen), NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL), presented case studies on the emerging green hydrogen hubs in Kochi, Kerala, and Pudimadaka, Andhra Pradesh, respectively. This article explores these case studies in detail.
Kochi green hydrogen hub
Kerala is finalising its green hydrogen policy, which aims to make the state a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen and ammonia, with the goal of becoming a 100 per cent green hydrogen/ammonia-consuming state by 2040. The policy seeks to reduce green hydrogen production costs to Rs 200 per kg by 2030. To support this, the state has allocated Rs 2 billion for viability gap funding, grants and equity to develop a green hydrogen hub. It also emphasises the use of floating solar and pumped hydro storage power projects, leveraging Kerala’s unique geographical advantages.
In terms of adoption, the policy sets bold targets – 30 per cent green hydrogen blending in the state’s total hydrogen consumption by 2027, and 25 per cent of hydrogen used in industries such as refineries and fertilisers to be replaced by green hydrogen or ammonia by 2030. Additionally, it aims to establish at least two global strategic partnerships to drive green hydrogen exports. The policy will include incentives for early adopters transitioning from grey to green hydrogen, land acquisition plans along the West Coast Canal, and development near Birinjan port for export infrastructure.
Kerala’s Kochi Green Hydrogen Hub initiative is being spearheaded by ANERT, the nodal agency for renewable energy in Kerala, which recently received the mandate to oversee green hydrogen projects in the state. It estimates an aggregate demand of 120 kilotonnes per annum of green hydrogen, requiring about 1 GW of electrolysers, 5 GW of renewable energy, grid infrastructure, storage and 27 km of pipelines. The hub plans to establish an export-oriented unit to cater to additional markets. The total investment needed is Rs 185.42 billion, to be implemented in three phases. This project has the potential to create around 3,600 jobs and is estimated to result in the abatement of 0.49 million tonnes of Co2e. The primary existing users include refineries, fertiliser plants and chemical industries, with potential future applications in gas blending, mobility and exports to countries with stringent carbon reduction targets. The export market’s viability will depend on offtake agreements with other states and the development of appropriate port infrastructure.
For transportation infrastructure, Kochi offers excellent connectivity with a well-developed port infrastructure. Kochi port already has established ammonia and gas infrastructure that can be leveraged for hydrogen transport. Additionally, a new greenfield port has been developed in Trivandrum, which can accommodate motherships and provide further export capabilities. Kerala also has an extensive road network and inland waterways that can be utilised for hydrogen transportation.
The state has undertaken several other green hydrogen initiatives. It has submitted a funding proposal to the Indian government for developing a hydrogen valley innovation cluster. This project aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility and scalability of hydrogen production and export. Kerala also plans to develop decentralised green hydrogen clusters primarily around Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, focusing on green hydrogen production, storage, distribution and applications in mobility, blending and biogenic green hydrogen. The total cost for developing the cluster is estimated at Rs 1.33 billion. ANERT has submitted a proposal to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for pilot projects using green hydrogen in fuel cell and hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE)-powered vehicles. As part of ARAI’s broader Rs 4.96 billion scheme to promote hydrogen mobility, a Rs 600 million pilot project is being led by ANERT through a consortium which includes hydrogen vehicle suppliers, refuelling station developers, green hydrogen developers and vehicle operators. The deployment plan includes two fuel cell electric vehicles and two HICE trucks, along with two hydrogen refuelling stations.
NTPC REL’s Pudimadaka green hydrogen hub
The Pudimadaka green hydrogen hub is being developed jointly by NTPC Green Energy Limited and the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh near Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast. This strategically located hub is surrounded by diverse industries, including steel, refineries, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers. The area is served by two major ports – Visakhapatnam port and the private Gangavaram port – and benefits from good water resources, including proximity to the sea for desalination purposes. The site also features excellent road and rail connectivity.
NTPC has allocated 1,200 acres of land for this hub, with additional areas along the shore designated for storage terminals and a captive port for exporting produced hydrogen and derivative products. The hub aims to produce approximately 1,500 tonnes per day (tpd) of green hydrogen, 4,500 tpd of green ammonia, 1,500 tpd of green methanol and 1,500 tpd of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green urea combined. The hub will also produce 300 tpd of liquefied hydrogen for export.
The project has tremendous scope for renewable energy utilisation, with plans to evacuate 20 GW of renewable energy from various sources within the state. The estimated investment requirement is approximately $22 billion, with $10 billion allocated for the green hydrogen hub and $12 billion for developing renewable capacity, including wind, solar and storage solutions. Once fully operational, the hub is projected to create around 50,000 jobs.
The development of the hub is planned in phases, with NTPC taking the lead in the first phase by establishing projects worth approximately $250 million. This includes facilities to produce 6 tpd of SAF and 150 tpd of green urea. Simultaneously, NTPC is conducting feasibility studies for green ammonia production to serve both domestic and export markets, as well as completing a feasibility study for green methanol production.
The green methanol production will utilise hydrogen from the hub, combined with biogenic carbon sourced from a nearby NTPC plant located approximately 23 km away. This will require the construction of a first-of-its-kind carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline to transport CO2 to the hub for methanol production. The captured CO2 will also be used in the production of green urea and SAF, both for pilot projects and large-scale production in later phases.
To manage the massive renewable energy requirements of 20 GW, NTPC has formed a joint venture with Andhra Pradesh to establish a new company dedicated to developing this capacity, which will deliver 7 GW of round-the-clock renewable energy to the hub. This strategic structure separates power generation and chemical production into sister concerns, optimising operations at the hub. The hub’s location, with its storage terminal and captive jetty, will enable exports to both Eastern and Western markets around the world.
Conclusion
As India builds out its nascent green hydrogen ecosystem, a coordinated, hub-based approach can provide the foundation to scale up production, integrate supply chains and drive economies of scale. Going forward, policy support remains key to driving down costs and creating the market demand necessary for hydrogen adoption.
