State aims green hydrogen leadership by 2030

Vijayawada: The state government has set an ambitious goal to position the State as a national hub for green hydrogen production, aiming for 1.5 million metric tons of output annually by 2029 and 2 gigawatts of electrolyzer manufacturing capacity by 2027.

At the first meeting of the Andhra Pradesh Green Hydrogen Valley Advisory Board held at the Secretariat on Thursday, chief secretary K Vijayanand said the State is moving to establish a complete value chain for green hydrogen, from production to industrial utilization, as part of its broader decarbonization strategy.

The meeting also marked the formal announcement of the AP Green Hydrogen Valley Declaration, under which a dedicated advisory committee has been constituted to guide policy and investment.

NITI Aayog member and chairman of the Advisory Board Dr. V K Saraswat said Andhra Pradesh ranks first in India in biomass availability, a key feedstock for green hydrogen. He noted that integrating biomass-based hydrogen generation could boost rural incomes and employment while supporting large-scale use of green hydrogen in steel, fertilizer, and port industries. The Central government, he added, is prepared to extend incentives under the National Hydrogen Mission to projects adopting green hydrogen.

Vijayanand said Andhra Pradesh’s energy profile offers strong fundamentals for scaling up hydrogen production, citing extensive solar, wind, and pumped hydro resources and a 974-km coastline conducive to renewable projects. A one-gigawatt pumped storage plant has already been established in Kurnool, and NTPC Green Energy Limited is developing a hydrogen hub at Pudimadaka near Visakhapatnam, targeting 1,500 tons of green hydrogen per day from a 20-GW renewable base with an investment of Rs 1.85 lakh crore. He said domestic production could substantially reduce energy imports and strengthen the State’s renewable ecosystem. “Andhra Pradesh is uniquely placed to lead India’s transition toward a green hydrogen economy,” Vijayanand said.

AP GreenCo AGM Ram Kumar added that the NPCL fertilizer plant in Kakinada has been converted into a one-million-tonne ammonia facility, and plans are underway to make Kakinada another hydrogen hub. He said several memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed at the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on November 14–15.

Member secretary Prof. D Narayana Rao presented the roadmap of the AP Green Hydrogen Valley Declaration for 2025–29, highlighting potential clusters for production and export.

Advisory Board members Dr R K Malhotra, Dr Ashish Lele, Sujith Pillai and J K Srivastava also offered inputs on scaling hydrogen fuel projects. Officials from NREDCAP, including VC and MD Dr Kamalakar Babu, industries secretary Dr N Yuvraj and DMR Panda, participated in the discussions.