India’s ambitious Green Hydrogen Mission aims to position the country as a global clean energy leader by 2030. However, high costs, infrastructure gaps, and regulatory challenges pose significant hurdles to its success.

At the recently held World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, a major port city in the Netherlands located on the North Sea coast, India’s commitment to renewable energy and green hydrogen was on full display. Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary at India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, outlined an ambitious vision that has begun to gain attention not only in Asia but also across the global clean energy dialogue.

India, now boasting more than 223 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, including 108 GW from solar and 51 GW from wind, is one of the fastest-growing clean energy markets worldwide. The country aims to become energy self-reliant by 2047 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.

To help realize this vision, India launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission in 2023 with an initial outlay of $2.4 billion USD. The mission seeks to:

• Enable domestic demand creation for green hydrogen,
• Provide incentives for electrolyzer manufacturing and hydrogen production,
• Achieve 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of annual green hydrogen output by 2030,
• Eliminate around 50 MMT of CO₂ emissions annually,
• Attract $100 billion USD in investment, and
• Generate over 600,000 jobs.

So far, India has made significant headway. Production capacities of 862,000 tonnes per annum have been allocated to 19 companies. Another 15 firms have received approvals to manufacture electrolyzers with a combined capacity of 3,000 MW per year. Pilot projects have already begun in key sectors like steel, mobility, and shipping. Additionally, a Green Hydrogen Certification framework has been introduced to establish standards and accountability.

Three key ports have been earmarked as future green hydrogen hubs: Kandla Port, located on the west coast of India in the state of Gujarat, Paradip Port, situated on the east coast in Odisha, along the Bay of Bengal, and Thoothukudi Port (also known as Tuticorin Port), located in Tamil Nadu on the southeastern coast of India. Fifteen Indian states have also announced specific policies to encourage the green hydrogen ecosystem.

The uncomfortable truth

Despite this enthusiasm, India’s green hydrogen ambitions face serious and structural challenges — many of which are deeply rooted in the country’s energy and infrastructure landscape.

1. High production costs
   Green hydrogen remains significantly more expensive than grey hydrogen (produced using fossil fuels), largely due to high renewable energy and electrolyser costs. Without competitive pricing, widespread industrial adoption will lag.
2. Fragmented regulatory environment
   India still lacks a fully standardized, national regulatory framework for green hydrogen — an issue that discourages global investors and slows deployment.
3. Inadequate infrastructure
   India’s energy grid and hydrogen storage and distribution infrastructure are still underdeveloped. The absence of pipelines, refuelling stations, and efficient transport mechanisms could stall commercial-scale projects.
4. Over-reliance on policy push
   While the Green Hydrogen Mission is promising, its success currently depends heavily on government subsidies and tenders. The challenge will be sustaining momentum once the initial wave of public funding tapers off.
5. Geopolitical competition
   India is not alone in its ambitions. Countries like Australia, the EU, Japan, and the Gulf states are investing heavily in green hydrogen, often with better-established technology ecosystems and deeper financing mechanisms. India will need to move swiftly and strategically to carve out a global leadership role.

A global green hydrogen player?

India’s potential to become a global green hydrogen powerhouse is real, bolstered by its vast renewable energy capacity, policy intent, and growing private sector participation. But the road ahead requires more than vision — it demands de-risked investments, integrated regulation, infrastructure development, and international collaboration.

If India manages to overcome its internal structural constraints and leverage its strengths, it could well transition from being an energy importer to becoming a global exporter of clean energy — redefining its economic and environmental trajectory in the process.

In a landmark moment for Indian innovation, 17-year-old Japteg Singh Bamrah, a Class 12 student at Dalhousie Public School, has won the prestigious HonorsGradU 2025 Scholarship, earning global recognition for his sustainable energy innovation—the Solar Mech Engine.

Bamrah is one of just five winners worldwide of the “Build a Better Future” Award, organized by U.S.-based nonprofit Honors Graduation. The scholarship program celebrates student-led projects that aim to solve real-world challenges with innovation and impact. Japteg’s Solar Mech Engine was recognized as the top technology entry among thousands of global submissions.

“This is a proud moment not just for me, but for India and young innovators everywhere,” said Japteg in a press statement.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Nasir Ul Rasheed, Senior Scientist at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, Japteg developed his project through the CSIR Jigyasa Hackathon initiative—an effort to nurture grassroots science and innovation in school students. The Solar Mech Engine, which also clinched top honours at the Jigyasa Hackathon 2024, operates as a standalone solar thermal system based on Concentrated Heat and Power (CHP) technology.

The innovation harnesses the principles of air expansion and contraction due to temperature changes to convert solar heat into mechanical energy. It features a low-resistance generator that uses electromagnetic induction for direct mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion. What makes it particularly unique is its reversible heat pump capability, allowing it to both generate and store energy with high efficiency.

Japteg showcased his invention at the National Startup Festival held at CSIR-IIIM Jammu in February 2025, where he presented the Solar Mech Engine to Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of Science and Technology and Vice President of CSIR. Dr. Singh lauded the project as a shining example of India’s Start-Up India, Stand-Up India mission, stating, “It’s innovations like these that embody the spirit of self-reliance and technological progress envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

“This achievement breaks new ground. Japteg is the first and only student from India to top this global competition since its inception in 2012,” said Dr. Rasheed in a press statement. “It highlights the untapped potential of young minds when given the right support and opportunities.”

As part of his award, Japteg receives a $10,000 scholarship toward his undergraduate studies in the United States and an additional $5,000 to further develop and scale his invention. With offers from more than ten leading universities across the U.S., Australia, and Canada—and additional scholarships totaling $16,000 per year—Japteg is now preparing for the next phase of his academic journey.

The Solar Mech Engine is more than a student project—it represents a scalable clean-energy solution that aligns with global sustainability goals. CSIR-IIIM’s backing underscores the importance of institutional support in converting youthful ideas into transformative technologies.

With a total grant package of $31,000, Japteg Singh Bamrah is poised to take his innovation to the next level while pursuing his education at a top international university. His journey from a school laboratory in Himachal Pradesh to the global stage is a testament to the power of curiosity, mentorship, and vision in building a better, greener future.

In a major scientific breakthrough, researchers at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, India, have developed a novel, cost-effective, metal-free porous organic catalyst that enables efficient hydrogen (H₂) production by harnessing mechanical energy. This innovative work could provide a significant boost to India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and global efforts toward clean energy.

The team, led by Professor Tapas K. Maji from the Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit at JNCASR—an autonomous institution under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India—has designed a donor-acceptor-based covalent-organic framework (COF) that functions as a highly efficient piezocatalyst for water splitting. The findings have been published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

“This discovery breaks the traditional notion of solely employing heavy or transition metal-based ferroelectric materials as piezocatalysts for catalyzing water splitting reaction,” said Professor Maji in a press statement.

The COF, constructed using the donor molecule tris(4-aminophenyl)amine (TAPA) and the acceptor molecule pyromellitic dianhydride (PDA), showcases unique ferrielectric (FiE) ordering. Unlike conventional ferroelectric materials, which have limited surface charge and rapidly reach saturation, this FiE structure dramatically enhances the number of charge carriers within the framework’s porous surface. This enables more effective diffusion and interaction of water molecules, resulting in ultra-high hydrogen production yields.

Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare and his team, also at JNCASR, conducted theoretical analyses confirming that the COF’s unusual electronic structure fosters dipolar ordering, leading to lattice instability and FiE behavior. “These FiE dipoles interact with the flexible twisting molecular motion in the material, making them responsive to mechanical pressure,” said Prof. Waghmare. “As a result, the material can generate electron-hole pairs when mechanically stimulated, making it a highly efficient piezocatalyst.”

The research team also includes Ms. Adrija Ghosh, Ms. Surabhi Menon, Dr. Sandip Biswas, and Dr. Anupam Dey from JNCASR, with significant contributions from Dr. Supriya Sahoo and Prof. Ramamoorthy Boomishankar at IISER Pune, and Prof. Jan K. Zaręba from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland.

The innovation offers a promising alternative to traditional oxide-based piezocatalysts and represents a leap forward in the sustainable production of hydrogen fuel. “The utilization of a cost-effective, metal-free system with a high production rate of H2 by harvesting mechanical energy opens up a new route to green H2 based on porous heterogeneous catalysts,” added Prof. Maji.