India launches Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme with emissions threshold

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme in April 2025, setting a 2.0 kg CO2-equivalent per kg threshold for certifying hydrogen as green. Certification becomes mandatory for subsidised and domestically supplied producers, shaping India's green hydrogen market credibility.

In April 2025, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India, the country's first formal mechanism to certify hydrogen as green based on emissions thresholds. Part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission inaugurated in January 2023 with a ₹19,744 crore outlay, the scheme sets a greenhouse gas threshold of 2.0 kg CO2-equivalent per kg of hydrogen averaged over a 12-month cycle. It covers direct and indirect emissions across electricity, fuel use, water treatment, electrolysis, purification, drying, compression, and onsite storage within defined system boundaries.

Hydrogen producers are directly affected, with certification compulsory for those receiving central or state incentives including SIGHT scheme beneficiaries, selling or using green hydrogen in India, claiming tax or regulatory exemptions, or partially exporting while supplying Indian consumers. Eligible pathways include electrolysis and biomass conversion such as gasification and pyrolysis. Facilities producing below 10 tonnes annually may opt in voluntarily, while producers exporting 100% of output without Indian incentives are exempt from final certification but must meet importing-country reporting requirements.

Producers must engage Bureau of Energy Efficiency-accredited carbon verifiers for annual monitoring, reporting, and independent emissions verification, and register on the dedicated Green Hydrogen Certification Portal to upload data and verification reports. The scheme aligns with ISO 19870:2023 standards and uses the Indian Grid Emission Factor for emissions accounting. Producers should prepare for Concept, Facility Level, Provisional, and Final Certificates, the latter carrying a unique identifier for each 100 kg batch detailing project credentials, production year, and verified emissions data.

Key figure — Emissions threshold: 2.0 kg CO2-equivalent per kg of hydrogen, averaged over 12 months