The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) called for public procurement mandates, urging green hydrogen-based products be used in the construction of public infrastructure projects.

It said mandating that 10–15% of materials like steel, cement, and ammonia in these projects be made from green hydrogen could lower costs and de-risk investment by creating “predictable, anchored demand.”

However, it stressed with green hydrogen prices remaining high compared to fossil-based production, mandates must be supported by incentives like carbon credit allocations for emissions saved.

It also highlighted that developing green hydrogen industrial clusters, with shared infrastructure and demand aggregation, would support uptake.

CII said government-led land capital provisioning, common-use infrastructure, and renewable energy linkages could support cluster development.

CII framed ambitions for supplying green hydrogen worldwide, claiming that “capturing 5–7.5% of projected global import demand would effectively translate into an export demand for up to 1.1 million tonnes of green hydrogen.”

It urged New Delhi to give green hydrogen and derivatives “deemed export status” to make it eligible for financial benefits under existing export promotion schemes.

The group also said that international bilateral trade agreements could create “significant” demand, referencing countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea as possible export destinations.

India has been ramping up its support for green hydrogen, backing domestic production projects, offering green ammonia contracts with state-run fertilisers, and supporting native technology manufacturing.

However, like most regions, the country’s projects have faced slow progress towards final investment decisions amid demand uncertainty.

The CII’s calls add to a list of organisations calling on the government to set mandates to support industry in meeting India’s goal of producing five million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.