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.

Engineers at MIT have unveiled a potentially game-changing method to produce hydrogen that could drastically reduce the carbon footprint associated with the fuel’s production — a critical step in realizing hydrogen’s promise as a clean energy solution.

Their research, published in the peer-reviewed journal, Cell Reports Sustainability, combines seawater, recycled aluminum from soda cans, and a rare-metal alloy to generate hydrogen with a significantly lower environmental impact.

A full life-cycle analysis by the research team shows the process emits just 1.45 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of hydrogen produced — a dramatic drop from the 11 kilograms typically emitted by fossil-fuel-based methods.

“This work highlights aluminum’s potential as a clean energy source and offers a scalable pathway for low-emission hydrogen deployment in transportation and remote energy systems,” Aly Kombargi, the paper’s lead author said in a media statement.

A mechanical engineer, Dr. Kombargi had received their doctoral degree fairly recently. Their fellow coauthors include MIT researchers, Brooke Bao and Enoch Ellis. Whereas Douglas Hart, the professor in mechanical engineering, was cited as senior author.

A Clean Cycle

The MIT team first made headlines last year when they demonstrated a lab-scale reaction that turned seawater and aluminum treated with gallium-indium into hydrogen gas. The novelty lies in how the alloy strips aluminum of its protective oxide layer, allowing it to react with water and produce pure hydrogen. Crucially, the salt in seawater helps the gallium-indium alloy to precipitate out and be reused, adding to the process’s sustainability.

To evaluate its real-world viability, the researchers conducted a cradle-to-grave analysis of the process — from sourcing recycled aluminum to transporting the resulting hydrogen. They used Earthster, a life-cycle assessment platform, to calculate emissions and economic costs across various scenarios.

Their lowest-emission scenario relies on secondary (recycled) aluminum and readily available seawater, producing hydrogen at around $9 per kilogram — a price that matches other emerging green hydrogen technologies powered by solar or wind.

A New Model for Hydrogen Infrastructure

Unlike traditional hydrogen production, which requires complex storage and transport infrastructure, the MIT method could simplify the supply chain.

In the envisioned commercial model, aluminum pellets treated with gallium-indium would be transported — rather than the hydrogen itself — to fueling stations near coastal areas. There, the pellets would be combined with seawater to generate hydrogen on demand.

This approach not only sidesteps the risks of transporting volatile hydrogen gas, but also produces a potentially valuable byproduct: boehmite, an aluminum-based mineral used in semiconductors and industrial materials. Selling this byproduct could further reduce production costs.

“There are a lot of things to consider,” Kombargi noted, “but the process works — which is the most exciting part. And we show that it can be environmentally sustainable.”

Electric Bikes and Beyond

The team has already created a prototype reactor, about the size of a water bottle, capable of generating enough hydrogen to power an electric bike for hours. They have also demonstrated the system’s capacity to fuel a small car and are exploring underwater applications, including powering boats or autonomous submersibles using surrounding seawater.

As nations race to decarbonize energy systems, this MIT breakthrough points to a novel, scalable solution — one that turns common materials into a clean fuel source and may help bridge the gap to a hydrogen-powered future.

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.