The investment decision demonstrates investor confidence, robustness of the industry in India and the advantages of policy certainty and infra support. The plan is to produce 5 million tonnes of green ammonia annually by 2028-30. GoI is working to make Kandla, Paradip and Tuticorin ports into GH2 and green ammonia export hubs. While this is a good step, GoI must nudge the domestic economy to decarbonise. Green ammonia can help decarbonise the farm sector without endangering food security as it allows a switch to cleaner feedstock for fertilisers. The reduced dependence on natural gas by the fertiliser industry will bring down subsidy and fuel import bills. Nest steps: set standards for green ammonia, focus on certification and introduce mandates to create a domestic market, and give the industrial decarbonisation process a push.
The Petronas-GIC-Greenko investment should bolster India’s position as it prepares for COP28. It should use these developments to demonstrate that far from being a coal-hugging emerging economy, it is a low-middle-income country trying to lay the foundations of a decarbonised economy through its RE programme, and focused push on GH2 and green ammonia.
