Govt to extend export scheme benefits to green hydrogen fuel manufacturers

By Shivangi Acharya

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will extend export benefits under a key scheme to domestic green hydrogen fuel manufacturers, two government officials said, as the Asian nation aims to become a global supplier of the clean fuel.

The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme, designed to offer refunds against some local levies to exporters, will be extended to green hydrogen once exports start, both officials, who did not want to be named as those discussions are private, told Reuters on Friday.

The ministries of renewable energy and trade did not respond to queries sent by Reuters.

One of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, India has approved a $2.11 billion incentive plan to boost local production and encourage use of green hydrogen. The move is targeted to help the country achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.

The country aims for annual production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen and hopes to provide at least 10% of global demand by 2030.

In December, ammonia and methanol, the transportable forms of hydrogen, were also included in the list of fuel sources that would get export incentives, though India is a net importer of those.

The same dispensation would also apply to other green forms of fuel generated using renewable energy, one of the government officials said.

"If green hydrogen is exported by Indian manufacturers, covering such exports under RoDTEP will not be an issue," the official added.

Plans to supply green hydrogen globally prompted the federal renewable energy ministry to seek its inclusion in the country's export promotion scheme managed by the trade ministry, the second official added.

 

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya; Additional reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)