India green hydrogen: SIGHT awards deepen 2030 pipeline

A mission moving from targets to capacity

India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), launched in January 2023, is shifting from policy design to on-ground execution, with multiple award rounds, pilot projects, and new funding lines. As of February 2026, India had commissioned approximately 8,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of green hydrogen production capacity. That commissioned base is being positioned as the first layer toward the Mission’s 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) annual green hydrogen production target by 2030.

The government has been using a combination of production-linked support, electrolyser manufacturing incentives, and sector pilots to build a domestic ecosystem. Alongside capacity awards, the Mission’s broader policy framework includes measures intended to reduce fossil fuel imports and create jobs, with official targets and funding allocations repeatedly reiterated by the ministry.

What the SIGHT scheme is designed to do

The Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) scheme is the Mission’s key instrument to accelerate manufacturing and production. As of May 2025, 19 companies held cumulative annual green hydrogen production allocations of 862,000 tonnes under SIGHT. In parallel, fifteen firms had awards for 3,000 MW of annual electrolyser manufacturing capacity.

The SIGHT scheme has also been cited as having allocated ₹4,440 crore (about $130 million) to support around 3,000 MW of electrolyser manufacturing and about 8.6 lakh tonnes of annual green hydrogen production. The long-term ambition referenced by the government and industry ecosystem is to reach 20 GW of electrolyser capacity, with participation mentioned from companies such as Reliance, Adani, L&T, Ohmium, and John Cockerill.

Second SIGHT round: nine winners and fresh production allocations

India’s green energy push took another step as the government finalised winners for the second round of the SIGHT scheme. Nine companies, including Reliance Green Hydrogen, L&T Energy, AM Green Ammonia, and Waaree Clean Energy Solutions, secured tenders to set up hydrogen production facilities. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which manages renewable energy projects, issued official awards to these firms.

Within this set of awards, L&T Energy, AM Green Ammonia, Green Infra Renewable Energy Farms, and Waaree Clean Energy Solutions received the highest allocation of 90,000 metric tonnes per year each. Reliance Green Hydrogen was awarded 49,000 metric tonnes annually. To support these allocations, the government earmarked financial incentives worth ₹2,238 crore, with AM Green Ammonia receiving the highest share at ₹513 crore.

Investment math behind new hydrogen plants

Industry estimates cited alongside the awards suggest that setting up a 100,000-tonne facility can require an investment of ₹18,000-20,000 crore. On that basis, the winning companies from the second phase have been described as being expected to invest about ₹80,000 crore in the coming years.

This context matters because SIGHT allocations are not only about near-term volumes but also about anchoring large capital projects and supply chains. The second phase is also positioned as incremental to the first round, where companies such as Greenko, JSW Neo Energy, Reliance Green Hydrogen, and Welspun New Energy were selected for hydrogen production units.

Refineries and fertilisers: early demand being created

Awards and sanctions have also targeted early domestic demand centres. A further 20,000 TPA has been awarded for Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) refineries. Another 10,000 TPA has been awarded for Numaligarh Refinery Ltd in Assam.

On the fertiliser side, SECI has discovered “globally competitive prices” for the supply of 7.24 lakh MTPA of green ammonia to fertiliser units, described as among the lowest in the world. In addition, MNRE data referenced alongside the scheme shows a tender of 7.39 LTPA for green ammonia (for fertilisers) as live.

Funding stack: Mission allocation, incentives, and new R&D

The National Green Hydrogen Mission has been described with an allocation of ₹19,744 crore to establish India as a key player across hydrogen production, storage, and applications. Separately, the ministry has referred to incentive schemes worth ₹17,000 crore supporting green hydrogen production and electrolyser manufacturing.

In addition to deployment incentives, Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi announced a new ₹100 crore R&D scheme to back green hydrogen startups. Under that initiative, the government will offer up to ₹5 crore each for pilot projects across hydrogen production, storage, transport, and utilisation.

The ministry also announced a ₹100 crore Call for Proposals for pilot projects to develop technologies for producing green hydrogen from biomass and waste materials. This ₹100 crore allocation for biomass and waste pilots was stated as being in addition to ₹100 crore already sanctioned for startups under the Mission, and the scheme is to be implemented through BIRAC.

Pilot projects and early mobility moves

India has launched pilot projects across steel, mobility, and shipping sectors. Seven pilot projects have been referenced across transportation, shipping, steel, and storage, alongside the publication of 88 standards intended to support safety and scale-up.

On road transport, the first batch of three hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks is set to operate on the Faridabad to Delhi NCR and Ahmedabad to Surat to Vadodara routes. For refuelling readiness, IOCL is establishing hydrogen refuelling stations in Faridabad, Vadodara, Pune, and Balasore.

PSU pipelines and specific projects under implementation

Public sector undertakings (PSUs) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) have set a target to produce over 1 MMT of green hydrogen by 2030. They are in the process of floating tenders for procurement on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis, with an initial capacity of about 42 kilo tonnes per annum (KTPA) expected to rise to 165 KTPA.

Some individual projects have also been highlighted. GAIL has established a plant in Vijaipur, Madhya Pradesh, capable of producing 4.3 tonnes per day (TPD) of hydrogen using a 10 MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser. Separately, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) signed an MoU with BPCL to develop the first green hydrogen plant in the aviation sector, and IOCL has handed over a green hydrogen fuel cell bus to the Indian Navy.

Key numbers at a glance

Market impact and why the numbers matter

The key market signal from these awards is that India is building a pipeline that spans electrolyser manufacturing, hydrogen production, and offtake creation in fertilisers and refining. The mix of allocations, subsidies, and pilots is intended to reduce execution risk by pairing supply-side buildout with early demand centres such as refineries and fertiliser units.

Policy support also matters for project economics. The Green Hydrogen Policy targets 5 million tonnes of production by 2030 and includes incentives such as a 25-year waiver of inter-state transmission charges for projects commissioned before June 2025. Separately, the Mission’s targets have been linked by the ministry to saving ₹1 lakh crore in imports by 2030, mobilising over ₹8 lakh crore in investment, and creating over 6 lakh jobs.

Conclusion

India’s green hydrogen rollout is now being shaped by concrete awards, manufacturing incentives, and sector pilots, with SIGHT rounds expanding the list of allocated producers and domestic electrolyser makers. As commissioned capacity grows from the ~8,000 TPA base reported in February 2026, the next milestones will be tied to tender outcomes, refinery and fertiliser supply execution, and the scale-up of manufacturing capacity already awarded under SIGHT.