India’s green hydrogen and green ammonia large project developers are looking to sign offtake contracts in Japan, South Korea as the domestic market is yet to take off, according to industry experts. Prashant Vasisht, senior vice-president and co-group head, corporate ratings, ICRA said that in case these contracts fructify projects with investments of several thousand crores would follow. “We may see some projects in green hydrogen and green ammonia space in case there are firm commitments or contracts for offtake. Large project developers are hopeful of signing offtake contracts in CY2025 with offtakers based in Japan, South Korea, etc. In case these contracts fructify projects with investments of several thousand crores would follow,” said Vasisht. Sanjay Gupta, CEO, Apollo Green Energy, said that India’s market is not mature enough to handle green hydrogen generation of this scale. “So, companies start looking for offtakers outside, but then the export bill also increases. Ideally there should be a scenario where it is utilised here in the country just as solar but till the time that happens firms have to look at international markets,” he said. Gupta, however, added that one positive thing is that if India is able to feed the international markets then it will be competing at the global front. “The cost of production has to be competitive to ensure that India is able to make space in the global market and when things will become more mature within the country, we will be having a very cost-effective solution coming from hydrogen,” he said. Arjun Mehta, a green hydrogen sector expert and advisor to GH2 India, a multi-stakeholder industry platform, said that green hydrogen producers are facing challenges in development of projects at scale primarily because offtake of green hydrogen has not yet materialised beyond early-stage discussions or in small quantities across markets worldwide. “The government policies have provided a good start and some relief to production costs, but large-scale transmission capacities, institutional financing capacity, and supply chain issues are other reasons why the sector is taking longer than expected to develop in India,” he added. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, is seen as a key component in decarbonising industries that are difficult to electrify, including heavy transport, chemicals, and steel production. India has set ambitious targets to develop green hydrogen as part of its broader energy transition strategy, aiming to reduce carbon emissions and establish the country as a global leader in renewable energy production.