India seeks to boost domestic green ammonia supplies to fertiliser sector

Larsen and Toubro

07/08/2026 12:32

    By Sethuraman N R
    NEW DELHI, Aug 7 (Reuters) - State-owned Solar Energy
Corporation of India is looking to supply an additional 1
million metric tons of locally produced green ammonia to
fertiliser makers annually, its managing director said on
Friday, as India seeks to reduce reliance on imports.
    This follows SECI's announcement in March that fertiliser
companies and local suppliers, including clean energy solution
company ACME Cleantech and NTPC Green, had signed offtake
agreements for 724,000 tons of green ammonia — a derivative of
green hydrogen — which could cover one third of the country's
requirements of the low-carbon fuel.
    The 1-million-ton supply proposal will be based on tenders
only, SECI's Akash Tripathi said.
    India's fertiliser sector uses about 20 million tons of grey
hydrogen annually, imported or produced from imported natural
gas, Tripathi said at a Confederation of Indian Industry event
on Friday, whose supplies have been disrupted by the Iran war.
    Hydrogen extracted using renewable power such as solar is
"green" while grey hydrogen is extracted from coal or natural
gas using steam-methane reforming. 
    Backed by incentives worth about $2.1 billion, India aims to
produce 5 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030 in a quest to
decarbonise industries and ensure its energy security. Its push
comes as several Western countries have scaled back ambitious
green hydrogen goals from the start of this decade on cost
constraints and slower-than-expected demand growth.
    India has brought the price of producing green hydrogen as
low as 279 Indian rupees (around $3) per kilogram, from around
$5 per kilogram in 2023, when the government launched its
National Green Hydrogen Mission.
    Under the initiative, industrial heavyweights including
Larsen & Toubro  LART.NS , Bharat Petroleum Corp  BPCL.NS , GAIL
 GAIL.NS  and JSW Steel  JSTL.NS  produce about 8,000 tons of
green hydrogen and its derivatives annually. SECI pools demand
and secures supplies. 
    Tripathi said SECI was also preparing green methanol tenders
targeted at the domestic market and expected to issue them
within the next two months.
   ($1 = 95.2300 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
 ((Sethuraman.NR@thomsonreuters.com; (+91 9945291420); Reuters
Messaging: nallur.sethuraman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))