From the Editorial Desk IGHA – Hyvolution India 2026 – 2 September, 2026
From Gujarat to Odisha, the more interesting question is no longer who is announcing a hydrogen project. It is where these projects can actually work.
What stands out
- India is working towards 5 MMT of green hydrogen production capacity a year by 2030.
- The project pipeline is spreading across states rather than gathering around one location.
- Gujarat and Odisha stand out for different reasons — and that difference is important.
- Green ammonia and other derivatives are becoming a bigger part of the commercial conversation.
- Renewable power alone will not decide the winners. Industry, ports, infrastructure, water and buyers will.
- The next test is simple: how much of the announced pipeline actually gets built?
For a while, India’s green hydrogen story was mostly about numbers.
Five million tonnes by 2030. Gigawatts of renewable energy. Electrolyser capacity. Investment commitments running into billions.
Those numbers were necessary. They gave the industry a sense of direction.
But we are now reaching the point where another question matters more: where will all this hydrogen actually be produced, and why there?
Look at the investment activity emerging across India and some of the answers are becoming clearer.
Gujarat is firmly in the picture. So are Rajasthan, Maharashtra and parts of southern India. On the eastern coast, Odisha is attracting attention too.
This isn’t random.
Hydrogen projects need far more than a good solar resource and available land. They need electricity at the right price, water, transmission, storage and logistics. Ideally, they also need an industrial customer somewhere nearby. If exports are part of the plan, access to a port changes the equation again.
Put those pieces together and the emerging hydrogen map starts making more sense.
Why Gujarat keeps coming up
Gujarat already has much of what a hydrogen industry would like to have around it.
There is refining. Petrochemicals. Large industrial consumers. Strong renewable-energy potential. Ports. Existing energy infrastructure. And some of India’s biggest companies are already investing heavily in new energy in the state.
That last point matters because green hydrogen is unlikely to develop as an isolated industry.
A large electrolyser project needs renewable electricity. The hydrogen it produces needs somewhere to go. It may be consumed directly, stored or converted into ammonia or another derivative. Each step introduces another piece of infrastructure and another cost.
Having producers, users and infrastructure within a reasonably concentrated geography can make that chain easier to build.
This is why the idea of hydrogen hubs makes commercial sense.
Instead of building every project as a standalone island, common infrastructure and concentrated demand could support several producers and consumers in the same region.
Gujarat looks naturally suited to that model.
Odisha is interesting for a different reason
Odisha’s advantage isn’t identical to Gujarat’s, and it doesn’t need to be.
The state already has something the hydrogen market will eventually need badly: heavy industrial demand.
Steel, metals, mining and fertilisers are significant parts of Odisha’s industrial economy. It also has major ports.
For a hydrogen developer, that creates two possible markets.
There is domestic industry, where green hydrogen and its derivatives could gradually replace more carbon-intensive fuels and feedstocks.
Then there is the possibility of exports.
Recent investment activity around green methanol, hydrogen and ammonia in locations such as Kendrapara, Paradip and Gopalpur shows why the eastern coast is beginning to attract attention.
The proximity of industry and ports is particularly relevant.
If green molecules become internationally traded commodities at scale, it may prove far more practical to produce them close to ports than to move hydrogen over long distances within the country first.
That could make coastal industrial belts particularly valuable.
The hydrogen market may actually become a green-molecules market
This is one part of the discussion that has changed noticeably.
A few years ago, almost every conversation started and ended with green hydrogen.
Today, ammonia comes up almost immediately. Methanol is increasingly part of the discussion too.
There is a practical reason for that.
Hydrogen is difficult and expensive to transport over long distances. Converting it into derivatives can make both transportation and end use more practical in certain markets.
Green ammonia also has another advantage in India: there is already a customer for ammonia.
The fertiliser industry consumes it today.
That matters enormously.
One of the biggest problems facing green hydrogen projects globally has been securing buyers willing to commit to long-term contracts at prices that make projects financeable.
India’s fertiliser sector offers an opportunity to create early domestic demand rather than waiting for an entirely new market to appear.
SECI’s green ammonia procurement activity is an early indication of how that market could develop.
And this may ultimately be more important than another large production announcement.
A project with a buyer has a very different commercial foundation from a project with only planned capacity.
Renewable power will still decide a lot
There is no escaping the electricity question.
Green hydrogen needs a lot of renewable power, and electricity remains one of the biggest influences on its production cost.
That naturally favours states with strong solar and wind resources.
But good renewable resources do not automatically mean cheap hydrogen.
The electricity has to reach the electrolyser. Transmission has to be available. Developers need to think about how many hours their equipment will operate and whether a combination of solar, wind and storage is required.
Then there is water.
And land.
And the infrastructure needed after hydrogen leaves the plant.
These may sound like operational details compared with a multi-billion-dollar project announcement. In practice, they can decide whether the project works.
This is also why India’s hydrogen geography may eventually look quite different from its renewable-energy map.
The best place to generate renewable electricity is not necessarily the best place to manufacture hydrogen or ammonia.
The winning locations will probably be the ones that offer the best combination.
And then comes the buyer
This may be the most important part of all.
Who is going to buy the hydrogen?
And at what price?
Steel companies will not switch simply because green hydrogen is available. Neither will refineries, chemical manufacturers or fertiliser producers.
The economics have to make sense.
For some industries, regulation or carbon requirements may eventually accelerate the shift. Export-oriented businesses may face pressure from customers and international markets. In other cases, government support may be needed while costs come down.
But eventually green hydrogen has to become a product that industry can afford to use at scale.
That is why offtake is becoming such an important part of the conversation.
It is no longer enough to announce production.
Developers increasingly have to start with the customer.
The next map will matter more than the current one
There is clearly momentum in India’s green hydrogen market.
Companies are interested. States are competing for projects. Renewable capacity is expanding. Green ammonia procurement is beginning to create visible demand. Ports and industrial clusters are entering the conversation.
The pipeline from Gujarat to Odisha shows how broad the opportunity could become.
But announced projects are still announced projects.
Over the next few years, the useful measure will be different.
Which projects secure buyers?
Which reach financial closure?
Which begin construction?
Which can produce hydrogen or its derivatives consistently at a competitive price?
And which regions manage to build enough surrounding infrastructure to attract the next project, and then the one after that?
Those answers will reveal India’s real hydrogen map.
It may not be defined by the state with the largest number of announcements. It may be defined by a handful of industrial clusters where renewable power, production, infrastructure and demand happen to come together particularly well.
That is where India’s 5 MMT ambition will ultimately have to be delivered.
Not on paper.
On the ground.
Source:
FAQs
1. What is India’s green hydrogen target for 2030?
India is targeting at least 5 MMT of green hydrogen production capacity annually by 2030 under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
2. Why are green hydrogen projects developing in different states?
Location depends on much more than renewable-energy potential. Developers also have to consider industrial demand, land, water, transmission, logistics, ports and the availability of long-term buyers.
3. Why is Gujarat emerging as an important hydrogen hub?
Gujarat combines renewable-energy potential with large refining and petrochemical industries, ports and established energy infrastructure. This gives hydrogen developers access to both potential demand and supporting infrastructure.
4. Why is Odisha becoming important for green hydrogen?
Odisha has a strong heavy-industry base covering steel, metals, mining and fertilisers, together with major ports. This combination could support both domestic consumption of green molecules and future exports.
5. Why is green ammonia receiving so much attention in India?
Green ammonia offers an immediate connection between hydrogen production and an existing industrial market, particularly fertilisers. It can also be more practical than hydrogen itself for transportation and international trade.
6. What will determine whether India reaches its 2030 hydrogen target?
The biggest test will be execution. Projects need affordable renewable power, infrastructure, financing and reliable technology, but above all they need customers prepared to enter long-term offtake arrangements at commercially workable prices.