Business Roundtable on Green Hydrogen at The Smarter E India, Gandhinagar

The Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC), in collaboration with the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF-SO), organised the first business roundtable of 2025 on ‘Green Hydrogen’ on the sidelines of The smarter E India/ InterSolar India on 12th February in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The roundtable brought together key stakeholders to discuss market developments and opportunities for Indo-German Green Hydrogen projects.

Shivani Chaturvedi, Regional Director, IGCC, welcomed the participants and set the tone for the roundtable. She highlighted the German industry’s anticipated demand for energy imports, including green hydrogen and its derivatives, estimated at 1.5 – 2.7 MMTPA, and emphasised the potential for Indo-German collaboration in this sector.

Anirban Kundu, IGEF-SO, informed participants about the second call for Expression of Interest for the €270 million PtX Development Fund by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Fund aimed to promote green hydrogen and its derivatives in developing and emerging economies, including India, by offering non-reimbursable grants to industrial-scale projects at various stages along the green hydrogen value chain to trigger further investments. More information was available at www.ptx-fund.com.

Arjun Mehta, Advisor, GH2 India, provided an overview of India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission. He spoke about GH2 India’s role in catalyzing investments in green hydrogen projects in India by bringing together the government, industry, and financial institutions.

Kumar Abhishek, IGEF-SO, briefed the audience about the German funding schemes for green hydrogen projects. He laid out the objectives of Germany’s ‘National Hydrogen Strategy’ and the grant funding initiatives such as the International Hydrogen Ramp-Up Program (#H2Uppp). He also explained the H2Global-Hintco’s double-sided auction-based market-making instrument, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), in catalyzing the hydrogen and derivatives market worldwide. The second round of the H2Global auction, amounting to €3 billion, was already approved by the EU.

The presentation was followed by detailed discussions, moderated by Clemens Antretter, with senior industry representatives from ports, renewable energy developers, associations, energy companies, research organisations, and startups. The session fostered a valuable exchange on funding opportunities to accelerate Indo-German collaboration in the sector.