India's National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched with a ₹19,744 crore outlay in 2023, aims to make India a global hub for green hydrogen production and export by 2030. By mid-2025, the first wave of green hydrogen projects is moving from feasibility study to financial close — and the industrial enterprises that will use this hydrogen are making procurement and infrastructure decisions now.

Green hydrogen — hydrogen produced by electrolyser systems powered by renewable electricity — is the only credible decarbonisation pathway for industries that cannot electrify directly: steel, cement, fertilisers, refineries, and heavy transport. Coal-based processes that produce these materials are responsible for a disproportionate share of India's industrial emissions, and no current technology other than green hydrogen can replace them at scale.

For enterprises in energy-intensive industries, green hydrogen strategy is not a long-term sustainability exercise. It is a medium-term procurement and capital investment decision. The infrastructure to use hydrogen — storage, safety systems, burner retrofits, pipeline connections — requires planning horizons of 5-10 years.