Govt mulls green hydrogen obligation for refiners, fertilizers

India is considering forcing fertilizer makers and oil refiners to include green hydrogen in their energy baskets.

The plan would cover the seven years from April 2023 and has been circulated among different ministries for discussion, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said in a note on its website. The ministry also circulated its draft Green Hydrogen Mission document among other government departments for consultation.

The move comes as the world’s third-biggest polluter debates whether to set an ambitious target to zero out its emissions by 2050. That would require the increased use of hydrogen produced using renewable electricity, especially in difficult to convert sectors such as steel making and oil refining that are currently reliant on fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal.

Hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage, neither of which are commercially viable in most applications, will together account for half of annual emissions reduction in heavy industries by 2070, according to the International Energy Agency.

India’s green hydrogen mission aims to scale up production of the fuel as well as align the country’s efforts with “global best practices in technology, policy and regulation,” according to the ministry note.