The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur will establish a Centre of Excellence on Green Hydrogen named the Centre of Excellence on Innovative and Integrated Ecosystem for Green Hydrogen, or ECOGEN. The institute announced the initiative on 20 July 2026 and the proposal has been approved by the Uttar Pradesh government and sanctioned by the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency under the Uttar Pradesh Green Hydrogen Policy 2024. The centre will operate within IIT Kanpur's Sustainable Energy Engineering Department and will align with state renewable energy planning.

Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced by splitting water through electrolysis powered by electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy. It is classified as a low-carbon fuel because its production route avoids direct carbon dioxide emissions associated with fossil fuel based hydrogen processes. Research and deployment of green hydrogen are seen as key to decarbonising industrial energy use and hard to abate sectors.

ECOGEN will focus on research and innovation across the green hydrogen value chain, including hydrogen generation, storage, transportation, safety standards, testing, demonstrations and industrial applications. The centre will also work to reduce the production cost of green hydrogen and develop technical and regulatory frameworks to support deployment. Its academic and technical objective is to strengthen India's clean energy research base and support Uttar Pradesh's net zero emissions goal.

Dr Prabodh Bajpai, professor in the Sustainable Energy Engineering Department at IIT Kanpur, will serve as the principal investigator for the centre. The initiative follows a prior approval on 16 December 2025 for a joint Centre of Excellence involving IIT Kanpur and Harcourt Butler Technical University that will operate from both campuses and cover similar areas of production, storage and safety. The centres will provide platforms for testing, demonstration and collaboration between academia, industry and state agencies.