Speaking candidly at the CII International Business Conclave on Green Hydrogen, Mr. Mohit Bhargava, Deputy General Manager at NTPC, offered a grounded perspective on India’s journey in the green hydrogen sector so far. He acknowledged the government’s proactive steps but emphasised the need to temper expectations with realism.
“Over the past four years, several boxes have been ticked,” he began. “The government has done its bit—it gave formal approval, announced a ₹19,744 crore support package under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) program, and established enterprise-level frameworks like SEFI.”
However, Mr. Bhargava pointed out that actual on-ground movement has been limited. “As far as Indian developers are concerned, only a few tangible projects have materialised. ReNew has won a green hydrogen bid floated by Indian Oil, reportedly at a discovered price of $4.6 per kg. Apart from that, Greenco is possibly the only other Indian company to have signed a formal offtake agreement with a European entity.”
He attributed the slow pace to the economics of green hydrogen still being unviable at scale. “When we started looking at hydrogen in 2021, it seemed like the silver bullet that would take us to net-zero. We thought it could decarbonise nearly every industry. But with more research, particularly through our work with UC Berkeley, we’ve come to realise that only a handful of sectors are truly suited for hydrogen.”
He specifically identified steel, ammonia (for exports), and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as three promising sectors. “Steel is one of the most compelling use cases. However, even there, we must be cautious. If we use the current discovered price of $4.6/kg, it simply doesn’t work for green steel based on hydrogen-based DRI (Direct Reduced Iron).”
According to research by UC Berkeley and NTPC, green hydrogen prices must fall to around $3/kg, and electrolyser prices must drop to approximately $500–$600 per kilowatt to make green steel cost-competitive with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) thresholds. “We believe that with scale and innovation, these numbers are achievable within the next 2–3 years,” he noted.
On the other hand, he was skeptical of using green hydrogen for electricity generation. “I say this with due respect, but using green hydrogen to generate electricity seems highly inefficient,” he said. “You take renewable electricity, lose 50% efficiency converting it into hydrogen, and then lose another 25–30% bringing it back to electricity. Essentially, you’re producing an electron from an electron at 25% net efficiency.”
Unless there are very specific cases like seasonal storage using salt caverns, such applications may not make economic sense in India in the near future, he argued.
Regarding green ammonia, Mr. Bhargava noted that while it holds export potential, its domestic application in refineries will be limited. “You can mandate up to 5–10% blending in refineries, but anything beyond that would have visible and significant cost implications on the consumer. So, even this sector has natural limits.”
Mr. Bhargava offered a pragmatic roadmap, saying: “Green hydrogen isn’t a silver bullet for every sector. But for green steel, export-grade ammonia, and potentially SAF in the coming years, it presents a real, transformative opportunity. Our focus should be on scaling up where it truly makes economic and environmental sense.”
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