From the Editorial Desk · IGHA – Hyvolution India 2026 – 12 August, 2026
When green hydrogen is discussed, the conversation often goes towards steel, shipping or long-distance transport.
In India, however, one of the first sizeable commercial markets is emerging somewhere much closer to home: fertiliser.
That makes sense. Ammonia is already an essential part of the fertiliser industry, and India has a large established market for it. Replacing part of the conventional ammonia supply with green ammonia therefore does not require the creation of an entirely new market.
It is a substitution story.
And that is exactly why the latest move from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) deserves attention.
SECI is looking to facilitate an additional 1 million tonnes of green ammonia supply per year for India’s fertiliser sector through a new tender. The announcement follows the first major procurement exercise, under which 724,000 tonnes per year was allocated to 13 fertiliser units.
For India’s hydrogen industry, this is an important development because it gives producers something they have been looking for from the beginning: a clearly identified domestic customer base.
Why Fertiliser Makes Sense
Ammonia is not a new product for India.
Fertiliser manufacturers already use large quantities of ammonia, while the country remains exposed to international markets for part of its supply and for the fossil fuels used in conventional production.
That creates an obvious opportunity for green ammonia.
Instead of trying to convince an entirely new industry to start consuming hydrogen derivatives, the government can work with an existing industrial demand centre and gradually replace conventional supply.
There is also a strategic angle.
Recent disruptions in international energy and ammonia markets have reminded India that dependence on global supply chains can become expensive very quickly. Reuters reported that the latest SECI initiative is partly aimed at strengthening domestic supply following disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.
For fertiliser manufacturers, therefore, green ammonia is not only a decarbonisation discussion. It is also becoming an energy-security discussion.
The March Tender Was the Important First Step
The first major SECI procurement exercise resulted in 724,000 tonnes per year of green ammonia being allocated across 13 fertiliser units.
The discovered prices ranged from ₹49.75/kg to ₹64.74/kg, with contracts structured for 10 years.
That price discovery is perhaps the most interesting part of the story.
It gives developers, fertiliser companies and investors a real market reference for what green ammonia can cost in India.
It also provides something that the hydrogen industry has needed for some time: actual commercial transactions rather than only announced production capacity.
The government has positioned these agreements as a way to strengthen domestic capability and reduce dependence on imported inputs. The March agreements were also described by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as an important step towards operationalising the green ammonia ecosystem under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
Now the Market Is Getting Bigger
SECI’s proposed additional 1 million tonnes per year is significant because it comes relatively soon after the first procurement round.
The model is also worth watching.
Competitive tenders allow the market to discover prices rather than relying entirely on administratively determined numbers. For producers, a long-term procurement structure can help with investment decisions. For fertiliser companies, it provides greater visibility on future supply.
That does not mean every project will automatically work.
Green ammonia production still depends heavily on renewable electricity costs, electrolyser performance, financing, utilisation rates, water availability, logistics and the final delivery arrangement.
But the presence of a defined buyer changes the conversation considerably.
A developer can now look at a project not simply as “We can produce green ammonia”, but as “There is a potential long-term market for this volume.”
That is a much more useful starting point for investment.
The Bigger Opportunity May Be Beyond Fertiliser
There is another reason I think the fertiliser market deserves attention.
Once production capacity, storage, transportation, certification and handling systems are established for green ammonia, those capabilities can potentially serve other markets as well.
Ammonia has applications beyond fertiliser. It is being considered for shipping fuel, energy storage and as a carrier for hydrogen in international trade.
India has already started seeing international demand. In March, Reliance Industries signed a long-term agreement with South Korea’s Samsung C&T for green ammonia supplies, with the deal valued at more than $3 billion.
So domestic fertiliser demand could become one part of a much larger green ammonia ecosystem.
But Cost Will Continue to Matter
There is one point that should not be overlooked.
Green ammonia is still a capital-intensive product. A competitive tender price does not mean that every proposed project will achieve the same economics.
Renewable power availability, electrolyser costs, financing conditions, plant utilisation and logistics will continue to determine whether individual projects make commercial sense.
This is also why the next round of procurement will be interesting.
Will prices remain around the levels discovered in the first tender?
Will more developers participate?
Will larger projects achieve better economies of scale?
And, importantly, how quickly will the contracted projects actually move towards production?
Those answers will tell us much more about the maturity of India’s green ammonia market than another announcement about planned capacity.
Why This Matters for India’s Hydrogen Economy
Green hydrogen does not have to enter every sector at the same time.
In India’s case, fertiliser may prove to be one of the most practical places to start because the demand already exists.
The infrastructure is familiar. The industrial users are established. The policy objective is clear. And there is now a mechanism through SECI to aggregate demand and create longer-term procurement arrangements.
If this model works at larger volumes, it could provide a useful template for other hydrogen-intensive industries.
That is why the latest SECI announcement is worth following closely.
India’s green hydrogen story may ultimately be much bigger than fertiliser—but fertiliser could be where the commercial story starts becoming real.
The Conversation Is Moving to Scale
The next question is no longer simply whether India can produce green hydrogen or green ammonia.
It is whether the country can build enough renewable power, electrolysers, ammonia capacity, infrastructure and offtake to make the economics work at scale.
These are the issues that will shape the next stage of India’s hydrogen market.
They will also be part of the wider industry conversation at IGHA – Hyvolution India 2026, taking place on 17–18 November 2026 at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida.
With policymakers, fertiliser companies, hydrogen and ammonia producers, technology providers, infrastructure companies and investors coming together, the discussion will be less about ambition and more about how these projects actually get built and commercialised.
The green ammonia market is beginning to move. The next few years will tell us how far it can go.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much green ammonia has SECI contracted so far for India’s fertiliser sector?
SECI has contracted 7,24,000 tonnes per year of green ammonia supply to 13 fertiliser manufacturing units across India under the SIGHT programme (announced March 2026). Managing Director Akash Tripathi announced in August 2026 that SECI is now seeking an additional 1 million metric tonnes per year through new competitive tenders.
2. What prices were discovered in SECI’s green ammonia competitive tenders?
SECI’s competitive bidding under SIGHT discovered green ammonia supply prices ranging from ₹49.75 to ₹64.74 per kg — significantly below the international grey ammonia benchmark of approximately ₹110 per kg. These are 10-year supply contracts.
3. Who are the primary green ammonia suppliers contracted by SECI?
ACME Cleantech and NTPC Green are the primary suppliers in the March 2026 contracts. ACME Cleantech is supplying IFFCO’s Kandla and Paradeep plants (1,00,000 TPA each), as well as Coromandel International’s Visakhapatnam plant. Jakson Green and OCIOR are supplying Coromandel’s Kakinada plant.
4. Why is the fertiliser sector strategically important for India’s green hydrogen transition?
India’s fertiliser sector uses approximately 20 million tonnes of grey hydrogen annually — all derived from imported natural gas. This creates direct import dependency, price volatility exposure, and subsidy liability for the government. Substituting green ammonia eliminates these risks while supporting India’s net-zero trajectory.
5. What is grey ammonia and how does it differ from green ammonia?
Grey ammonia is produced from natural gas (predominantly imported) through steam methane reforming, generating significant CO2 emissions. Green ammonia is produced by splitting water through electrolysis using renewable electricity, then using the hydrogen in Haber-Bosch synthesis. The carbon footprint is near-zero and the feedstock is entirely domestic.
6. What is the connection between green ammonia and India’s energy security?
Once built, domestic green ammonia production relies on Indian solar and wind electricity — resources that are abundant and domestically controlled. The marginal cost of production after capital investment is essentially the cost of renewable electricity, eliminating exposure to international gas price volatility and geopolitical supply risks.
7. What did Union Minister JP Nadda say about the green ammonia agreements?
At the March 2026 agreement signing ceremony, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers JP Nadda described the initiative as ‘a significant step towards building a self-reliant nation and advancing the country’s clean energy transition.’ (Source: Newsonair.gov.in )
8. How does green ammonia link to India’s export ambitions?
Once domestic green ammonia supply infrastructure is established for fertiliser, the same production and logistics capabilities can serve the emerging global green ammonia trade — as a maritime fuel, as a chemical feedstock, and as a hydrogen energy carrier for export to energy-importing nations in Asia and Europe. India has already signed its first green ammonia export deal with Japan (August 2024).
9. What is the SIGHT programme’s role in green ammonia development?
SIGHT (Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition) is the financial incentive mechanism under NGHM that funds electrolyser manufacturing and hydrogen production. SECI’s green ammonia supply contracts are awarded through SIGHT’s competitive tender framework, which has successfully discovered below-benchmark market prices.
10. What sessions at IGHA – Hyvolution India 2026 are relevant to the green ammonia sector?
IGHA – Hyvolution India 2026 (17–18 November, India Expo Mart, Greater Noida) includes dedicated Strategic Conference sessions on hydrogen derivatives including green ammonia, methanol, and e-fuels, as well as sessions on industrial off-take agreements, project finance, and the SIGHT programme. Register at igha-hyvolution.com.
Sources & References
- Reuters / Hydrocarbon Processing — India Seeks to Boost Domestic Green Ammonia (August 2026)
- ESG News — India Targets 1 Million Tons of New Green Ammonia
- Indian Chemical News — India Inks Landmark Green Ammonia Deal
- Newsonair.gov.in — JP Nadda on Green Ammonia Agreements
- SECI — NGHM Green Ammonia Tenders
- MNRE — National Green Hydrogen Mission
- IGHA – Hyvolution India 2026 (Official)