Santosh Sarangi, secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said India may hit its five-million-tonne green hydrogen target two years late, in 2032 instead of 2030.

Addressing a session at the International Green Hydrogen Conference in New Delhi, Sarangi said the target “may slip,” potentially down to three million tonnes per year by 2030,

European delays on renewable targets and the postponed International Maritime Organisation (IMO) vote on the Net Zero Framework (NZF) have added uncertainty to India’s export plans, according to Sarangi.

Local reports quoted Sarangi saying, “Some companies that are more export dependent are likely to recalibrate due to certain policy uncertainties globally.

“But at the same time, there are companies like Greenko, Acme, and Sembcorp that are actively scouting for partnerships, and we expect these companies will soon execute their final investment decisions (FIDs) and start projects.”

For example, Acme Group agreed to provide 800,000 tonnes of green hydrogen-based iron annually under a 10-year deal with Vietnam’s Stavian Industrial Metal last month.

Sarangi added that MNRE is boosting domestic demand by launching new green hydrogen supply tenders for refineries and reviewing grid connections to support future projects.

Speaking during a H2 View webinar last week, Amrit Singh Deo, an advisor to the India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A), urged India to adopt Japan’s contracts-for-difference (CfD) model.

The scheme guarantees long-term offtake prices, and is designed to make green hydrogen projects bankable and accelerate towards FID.

Earlier this year, IH2A called for Hydrogen Purchase Obligations to secure India’s 2030 green hydrogen target and protect over $80bn in planned investment.

It claimed that without guaranteed demand, India risked missing its 2030 green hydrogen target, leaving electrolyser capacity underused and investment stranded.