Green ammonia in India could advance energy and food sustainability.

Private companies in India are committing billions to green ammonia for fuel, fertilizer and novel protein production, and government incentives and a SECI tender are supporting early projects and procurement.

Across India, private firms are investing in green ammonia for fuel, fertilizer and for use in food and feed ingredients. Government programmes and state policies provide incentives under the green hydrogen mission and advanced technology policies. The first facility making more than 1,000 tonnes per year opened in Bikaner in 2021. Several companies have plants proposed with capacities ranging from 0.4 to 2.9 million tonnes per year. Key facts: - Private companies have pledged billions toward green ammonia, mainly for fuel, with growing interest in fertilizer and food uses. - Projects for marine fuel and export are eligible for incentives under the Solar Energy Corporation’s green hydrogen mission and some state policies; the Solar Energy Corporation of India issued a tender for 0.75 million tonnes per year of green ammonia fertilizer (about 4% of domestic production). - Over 80% of the natural gas used to make nitrogen fertilizer in India is imported (about 44 million standard cubic meters per day), costing roughly $9 billion per year, while urea subsidies cost the government about $17 billion annually. - Domestic nitrogen fertilizer synthesis emits about 45 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year; green ammonia may qualify for emissions credits and reduced subsidy exposure. - Small-scale green ammonia units exist in Canada, the United States and Kenya; ammonia is already widely used in India as a refrigerant, and mycoprotein produced from green ammonia yields roughly 70% human-grade protein and 30% usable as livestock feed. Summary: Adopting green ammonia is described as a way to connect renewable electricity to fuels, fertilizers and alternative proteins, with potential to lower gas imports and emissions from fertilizer synthesis. Several projects are under development and government tenders and incentives are active. Technical and adoption challenges noted include fertilizer application methods, the need for soil injection technology, and costs for converting ammonia into urea that require a CO2 source. Next approval and deployment timelines are undetermined at this time.