Established in 2013 and based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Oswal Energies is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company in the oil and gas (O&G) sector that is transitioning into an integrated clean fuels and renewables player. In the clean energy space, the company is pursuing technology partnerships and pilot projects, and developing a green fuels and desalination hub at Kandla port. In an interview with Renewable Watch, Ratan Bokadia, Managing Director, Oswal Energies, discussed the group’s current business focus in the green fuels space, cost and market dynamics of the green hydrogen segment, and the technical and commercial challenges faced by them. as well as the group’s future plans. Edited excerpts…
What is Oswal Energies’ current business focus?
The Oswal Group has more than 45 years of experience in manufacturing, foundry work and EPC for the hydrocarbon and petrochemicals sectors. Historically, we have supplied equipment and EPC services to clients such as ONGC Limited, Cairn India, Sunpetro, OilX, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, as well as several other refinery and petrochemical companies. Over the past year, we have actively moved into the clean energy space, leveraging our existing client relationships. Given government commitments to net zero, a lot of tendering and investment is now flowing into green hydrogen, e-methanol and municipal solid waste (MSW)-based waste-to-energy (WtE) projects. Moreover, our core clients, the national oil companies and large refiners, are themselves moving towards net zero targets.
Our EPC experience is directly relevant – engineering, fabrication and project execution processes remain the same. The primary difference is technology selection, so we have been bringing in the right global technology partners to qualify and deliver technical solutions for clients.
What is the vision behind your MoU with the Deendayal Port Authority for the green fuels and desalination hub at Kandla port? What capacity and timelines are you targeting?
The MoU aligns with the Ministry of Ports, Ships and Waterways’ Sagarmala initiative as well as the national push to develop green ports. The aim is to bring proven technology to develop green hydrogen, green ammonia, e-methanol and biomethanol at port locations. Kandla port in Gujarat, along with Tuticorin port in Tamil Nadu and Paradip port in Odisha, are the three ports designated by the government under the National Green Hydrogen Mission as green hydrogen hubs. Our role is to bring the right technology partners and turnkey solutions to implement pilot projects that can be further scaled. Our immediate plan is to implement pilot projects, such as a 5 MW green hydrogen pilot and a 5 tonne per day e-methanol pilot. We expect to sign contracts and start working on them within about three months, after which, the pilots will be executed and used to validate technology and scale up plans.
How will the proposed desalination plant be integrated into the green fuels ecosystem?
The desalination plant is not part of the hydrogen production process per se, but it is a strategic infrastructure. Given the coastal location of Kandla, which will be the biggest hydrogen hub in India, desalinated water will be essential, supplying future hydrogen parks for the water requirements of electrolysis and other production processes.
What is your approach to securing offtakers for green methanol and ammonia?
In many of these port projects, the client or port authority is playing a lead role in managing offtake. Our role is to develop the plant and provide the technology solutions. However, in industrial clusters, particularly in south Gujarat’s chemical clusters, we are engaging with end-users directly to understand their demand.
What technology choices are you prioritising and why? How are you approaching storage and transportation planning for hydrogen and its derivatives?
We have selected technology partners based on proven performance in similar applications. Moreover, for synthesis routes, we are working with partners that have implemented projects internationally, prioritising technologies that lower overall downstream costs and improve integration with storage and transport.
Storage and transportation are key cost drivers. We are working with partners who have patented solutions to reduce storage and transfer costs. One partner from the UK, for instance, offers a technology that can cut storage and transportation costs by around 30 per cent. Reducing these logistics costs is critical to making green hydrogen competitive.
How are you planning your sourcing strategy for electrolysers and critical balance-of-plant (BoP) equipment?
We are promoting domestic manufacturing for electrolysers. We have an exclusive agreement with Greenzo Energy which manufactures electrolysers and holds domestic patents. It will supply our projects with preferred pricing and priority support. We will manage BoP engineering and supply through our EPC capabilities and local suppliers.
Given your EPC capabilities, what elements of the hydrogen value chain do you expect to manufacture in-house?
That decision will follow clearer policy signals, both from the central and state governments. We expect to finalise our manufacturing road map after further policy clarity, and then decide which components to produce internally versus source from partners.
How do you factor in the intermittency of renewable power supply for electrolysis in plant sizing and utilisation planning?
A stable supply of renewable energy is essential for green hydrogen production. We are already engaging with companies in the solar sector. We are also planning to develop our own solar assets to secure firm power for electrolysers. Without a stable renewable supply, green hydrogen projects are not viable.
Which domestic end-use markets will be the early adopters of green hydrogen and its derivatives?
The fertiliser industry is an obvious sector for early adoption, but it is controlled by large-scale public sector undertakings that take longer to make decisions. We see near-term demand in chemical clusters in Gujarat such as Dahej, Jhagadia, Bharuch and Ankleshwar, where many chemical manufacturers currently use grey hydrogen and are keen to decarbonise. These chemical manufacturers, especially exporters to European markets with looming carbon pricing, see value in switching from grey to green hydrogen to access carbon premiums and market advantage. We have conducted surveys and engaged owners and technical teams, with several having expressed readiness to host plants or buy green hydrogen at their doorstep once the state policies and pricing mechanisms are clear.
How do you see electrolyser costs evolving, and what price point will make green hydrogen commercially competitive? Do you have any policy suggestions for the government?
We expect electrolyser costs and system costs to fall with mass production in the same way solar costs did. Today, the costs are around $3-$3.5 per kg using current renewable prices. Over time, with scale, costs could approach $1.1-$2 per kg. The pace of cost reduction will depend on policy support, manufacturing scale and renewable power availability. Capital subsidies have an important role. Several states are already offering capex-linked subsidies, for example, 25 per cent on capex in some cases. Sustained capex support and clear incentive frameworks will accelerate project development and make projects bankable for end-users.
In the WtE segment, are you facing any issues with the availability of municipal and industrial feedstock?
We have assessed local MSW availability and believe feedstock availability is adequate to make projects viable. In Ahmedabad, MSW feedstock is sufficient to support projects for more than 10 years at current estimates. Moreover, in this space, we are bidding on tenders for MSW and industrial waste projects and have a technology tie-up with Enason US.
What are the most significant technical or commercial challenges you have encountered across green hydrogen, bioenergy and carbon capture, utilisation and storage?
The dominant challenge is policy clarity and predictable frameworks. People are adopting a wait-and-watch approach to government policies. Generally, in the hydrocarbon sector, the flow is clear and decisions are quicker; conversely, in the clean energy segment, many stakeholders expect a lot of new initiatives from the government, which are still not clear. As soon as the centre and states give a clear vision, a lot of players will enter this segment. Technical challenges exist, but the bigger bottleneck today is policy clarity and certainty.
What are Oswal Energies’ plans for scaling its green fuels and renewables footprint over the next five years?
We have a clear five-year vision to transition from conventional EPC work in the O&G segment to the clean energy segment. That will include end-to-end technology solutions for clients, selective build-own-operate-maintain models where we invest alongside customers, scaling pilot projects at Kandla, and expanding our solar and waste-to-energy activities to secure renewable power and feedstock.
