The India Hydrogen Alliance (IH2A) has earmarked green methanol, ammonia and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) as pivotal solutions to decarbonise the Indian transportation sector.
The Low-Carbon e-fuels & Heavy Duty Transport Decarbonisation Report 2025-2030 stated that low-carbon e-fuels hubs of different scales and heavy-duty transport corridors along the nation’s east and west coast will be key to decarbonising heavy transport.
Decarbonising coastal shipping could reportedly lead to an annual demand of up to 194 million litres by 2030, necessitating approximately 40,000 tonnes of hydrogen. Therefore, green methanol hubs could be crucial, and present potential export opportunities to Singapore.
Additionally, the Indian shipping sector may demand 263 million litres per year by 2030 – around 50,000 tonnes of hydrogen – meaning green ammonia hubs could represent an opportunity, although they’re estimated to be 130% more expensive than green methanol.
The report also recommended a 1% to 3% SAF blending mandate for select domestic and international flights, which could generate a demand for the fuel.
Furthermore, the IH2A recognised that the economic challenges tied to using compressed or liquid hydrogen as a fuel for heavy transport could hinder the broader uptake of this use case in the country.
They found that a fleet of 30 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), specifically 28-tonne trucks during the 2025-2030 period, would demand 19,500kg of hydrogen fuel. This would require hydrogen infrastructure and incur high upfront and operational expenses.
“Different green fuels [are] expected to have different adoption rates, based on offtake readiness, economics and technical viability,” the report wrote. “Across the four green fuels evaluated, SAF appears promising in the short term, followed by methanol (for shipping), and green ammonia and hydrogen trucking.”
Amrit Singh Deo, IH2A Secretariat Lead, claimed aviation and coastal shipping are “clear priorities” for decarbonisation transport with low-carbon e-fuels.
“Strategic low-carbon e-fuel partnerships with Singapore and Europe will help drive adoption,” he said. “Transport fleet owners, in shipping and trucking, will require CAPEX support to introduce low-carbon vehicles in their heavy-duty transport fleets.
“Without demand-side incentives to transport fleet owners, adoption of e-fuel-powered vehicles will be slow. Low-carbon e-fuels have an important role to play in decarbonising heavy-duty transport but close coordination between policy makers, e-fuels producers and fleet owners are required.”
