India sets definition of green hydrogen

The Indian government has set an emission limit of two kilogrammes of carbon dioxide for every kilogramme of hydrogen produced to be classified as “green” from renewable sources, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said on Saturday.

In a press release, the ministry defines green hydrogen as “having a well-to-gate emission”, with the scope of this definition including “both electrolysis-based and biomass-based hydrogen production methods”.

It added that this notification would bring widely-awaited clarity for green hydrogen production in India, stating: “With this notification, India becomes one of the first few countries in the world to announce a definition of Green Hydrogen”.

India wants to become a global hub for the production of green hydrogen and is aiming for annual production of 5 million metric tons of the fuel by 2030, which would cut about 50 million metric tons of carbon emissions and save more than $12 billion on fossil fuel imports.

Compared to other countries such as the US, India’s definition of green hydrogen is much stricter – the US Department of Energy recently updated its guidance document containing its proposal for a Clean Hydrogen Production Standard in June, establishing a target of four kilogrammes of carbon dioxide for every kilogramme of hydrogen produced.