Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi launched the Green Hydrogen Certification Portal of India (GHCI) during a national workshop on strengthening the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) in New Delhi. Developed by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the portal is a digital platform designed to enable transparent certification, verification, and regulatory compliance under the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India. Scheduled to become operational in July 2026, the portal marks a critical step in building a credible, standards-backed green hydrogen market in India.
What Is the Green Hydrogen Certification Portal?
The Green Hydrogen Certification Portal is a unified online platform built by the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) for MNRE under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. It allows green hydrogen producers across India to apply for, track, and receive certification that confirms their hydrogen meets the prescribed emission threshold of 2 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kg of hydrogen (2 kg CO₂e/kg H₂). Only hydrogen that stays within this limit qualifies as “green.”
The portal digitises the entire certification lifecycle from producer registration and facility verification to the issuance of both provisional and final certificates. It comes with built-in workflows for Accredited Carbon Verifiers (ACVs) and a Technical Committee (TC) that oversees compliance. Key features include automated Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) validation, QR-code-enabled certificate verification, integrated fee processing, and a public verification portal that allows anyone to check the authenticity of a certificate.
By creating a transparent, auditable, and standards-compliant certification framework, the GHCI portal strengthens investor confidence, enables producers to claim carbon credits under India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), and positions India as a credible player in the global green hydrogen economy.
The Four-Stage Certification Process
The Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme, notified by MNRE in April 2025, establishes a structured, multi-stage certification process with four distinct certificate types. Two of these apply at the facility level, and two at the production level.
At the facility level:
A Concept Certificate is a voluntary document that confirms a hydrogen production facility’s design meets the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) prerequisites of the scheme. Producers can apply for this once the facility’s front-end engineering design (FEED) is approved.
A Facility-Level Certificate is mandatory. It confirms that the production facility has fulfilled all MRV requirements and obtained statutory consent to operate. This certificate must be secured before any hydrogen produced at the facility can be certified as green.
At the production level:
A Provisional Certificate is voluntary and auto-generated. It certifies hydrogen produced over a period of one to eleven months based on production data submitted by the producer. However, this remains subject to final verification by an ACV agency.
A Final Certificate is mandatory for all producers who receive government incentives, subsidies, or concessions, or who sell hydrogen in the domestic market or supply to both domestic and export customers. It is issued annually and confirms that the average emission intensity of the hydrogen produced in a financial year stays within the 2 kg CO₂e/kg H₂ threshold.
| Certificate Type | Mandatory or Voluntary | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Concept Certificate | Voluntary | Confirms facility design meets MRV prerequisites |
| Facility-Level Certificate | Mandatory | Confirms facility has consent to operate and meets MRV requirements |
| Provisional Certificate | Voluntary | Auto-generated certificate for 1-11 months of production |
| Final Certificate | Mandatory | Annual certification confirming emission compliance |
Governance Structure
MNRE serves as the nodal ministry with overall supervision of the scheme. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), which was established in 2002 under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, accredits the carbon verification agencies. These ACV agencies conduct on-site verification and submit reports through the GHCI portal. A Technical Committee chaired by the Mission Director of the National Green Hydrogen Mission provides strategic oversight, with the Implementing Agency serving as its convenor.
Why Certification Matters for India’s Green Hydrogen Economy
Green hydrogen commands a price premium only if its environmental credentials can be trusted. Without a robust certification system, producers, buyers, and export partners have no way to independently verify that the hydrogen they are trading was actually produced using renewable energy within acceptable emission limits.
The GHCI portal addresses this gap in several ways. First, it prevents greenwashing by ensuring that only hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources within the prescribed emission threshold receives certification. Second, it creates a transparent digital trail from production to certification that regulators, buyers, and international partners can verify using the public portal and QR codes on each certificate.
On the export front, certification has become a trade-enabling necessity. The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will soon levy charges on the embedded carbon content of imports. Indian green hydrogen and its derivatives, such as green ammonia and green methanol, need verifiable certification to enter these markets without carbon penalties. The GHCI framework, with its well-to-gate system boundary and alignment with international standards like ISO 19870:2023, is designed to meet this requirement.
The portal also unlocks access to carbon credit markets. Producers with valid GHCI certificates can claim carbon credits under India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, creating an additional revenue stream that improves the overall economics of green hydrogen production.
States Driving the Green Hydrogen Ecosystem
During the national workshop where the GHCI portal was launched, Minister Pralhad Joshi highlighted the growing role of state governments in advancing the hydrogen economy. Six states have already notified dedicated green hydrogen policies, seven others have integrated hydrogen provisions into their broader industrial or renewable energy frameworks, and four more states are in the final stages of drafting their policies.
| Category | States |
|---|---|
| Dedicated green hydrogen policies (6) | Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttarakhand |
| Integrated hydrogen provisions (7) | Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam |
| Finalising draft policies (4) | Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Kerala |
The six states with dedicated policies offer a mix of capital subsidies ranging from 10 to 30 per cent, land and water facilitation, power-related incentives, stamp duty exemptions, and targeted support for electrolyser manufacturing and refuelling stations. Maharashtra and Gujarat have introduced some of the most comprehensive packages, including 20 to 30 per cent capital subsidies and major waivers on transmission and wheeling charges.
This shift from a centrally driven mission to a broader federal implementation effort is significant. State-level action on land allocation, power tariffs, and infrastructure development will be critical to achieving the NGHM target of 5 MMT of green hydrogen production by 2030.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission: A Progress Check
The GHCI portal is a key institutional pillar of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which the Union Cabinet approved on 4 January 2023 with a total outlay of ₹19,744 crore to be spent through 2029-30. The mission is implemented by MNRE with the overarching goal of making India a global hub for the production, usage, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
Mission Targets by 2030
| Target | Figure |
|---|---|
| Annual green hydrogen production capacity | 5 MMT (million metric tonnes) |
| Associated renewable energy capacity | 125 GW |
| Projected total investments | Over ₹8 lakh crore |
| Expected employment generation | Over 6 lakh jobs |
| Annual CO₂ emissions abated | Nearly 50 MMT |
| Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports | Over ₹1 lakh crore |
Phased Implementation
The mission follows a two-phase approach. Phase I (2022-23 to 2025-26) focused on creating demand, building domestic electrolyser manufacturing capacity, and launching pilot projects in refineries, fertilisers, and city gas sectors. Phase II (2026-27 to 2029-30) aims to make green hydrogen cost-competitive in refineries and fertilisers, expand into steel and mobility, and scale up commercial projects.
Progress on the Ground
Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, which accounts for ₹17,490 crore of the mission outlay, the government has already awarded incentives for 8,62,000 MTPA of green hydrogen production capacity to 19 companies. Around 8,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen production capacity has been commissioned in India as of February 2026.
In the manufacturing sector, financial incentives have been awarded to 15 companies to establish 3,000 MW per annum of indigenous electrolyser manufacturing capacity, reducing dependence on imported supply chains. Contracts have been awarded for the supply of 30,000 MTPA of green hydrogen to public-sector refineries including IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, and NRL. Agreements have also been signed for the supply of 6.7 lakh MTPA of green ammonia to 11 fertiliser plants.
Green Hydrogen Hubs
Three major ports have been formally recognised as Green Hydrogen Hubs: Deendayal Port (Kandla, Gujarat), V.O. Chidambaranar Port (Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu), and Paradip Port (Odisha). These ports anchor production close to demand centres and export routes, enabling a cluster-based development model that avoids the logistical challenges of transporting hydrogen over long distances. Deendayal Port has already allocated 3,400 acres of land to companies including Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro for large-scale green hydrogen production.
Research, Startups, and Pilots
To strengthen the innovation ecosystem, MNRE has announced a ₹100 crore support fund for green hydrogen startups, with an initial batch of nine startups receiving ₹22 crore in funding. A dedicated R&D programme worth ₹113 crore is supporting 21 approved research projects. In the steel sector, pilot projects worth ₹84 crore are testing 100 per cent hydrogen injection in manufacturing processes. For clean mobility, nearly ₹208 crore has been allocated for 37 hydrogen-powered vehicles and nine refuelling stations, while ₹193 crore has been invested in seven national testing facilities to strengthen quality assurance infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
- The Green Hydrogen Certification Portal (GHCI) was launched by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and will become operational in July 2026.
- The portal certifies hydrogen as “green” only if its emission intensity stays within the threshold of 2 kg CO₂e per kg of H₂.
- The National Green Hydrogen Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet on 4 January 2023 with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore, targeting 5 MMT of annual green hydrogen production by 2030.
- Six states have notified dedicated green hydrogen policies: Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand.
- Three ports have been recognised as Green Hydrogen Hubs: Deendayal Port (Kandla), V.O. Chidambaranar Port (Tuticorin), and Paradip Port (Odisha).
- Under the SIGHT programme, incentives for 8,62,000 MTPA of green hydrogen capacity have been awarded, and 3,000 MW per annum of electrolyser manufacturing capacity has been allocated to 15 companies.
