Harvesting Crops and Molecules – Green Hydrogen Production with Agrivoltaics

India’s clean energy transition took an innovative turn at the Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo 2025 with the session “Harvesting Crops and Molecules – Green Hydrogen Production with Agrivoltaics”, organised by the Indo-German Energy Forum Support Office (IGEF-SO). The session brought together policymakers, experts, and industry leaders to explore how integrating Agrivoltaics (AgriPV) and Green Hydrogen (GH2) could drive India toward a sustainable, energy-secure, and inclusive future.

The highlight of the session was the official launch of the study “Harvesting Crops and Molecules – Green Hydrogen Production with Agrivoltaics” by Shri Manu Srivastava, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary & Commissioner, New & Renewable Energy Department, along with other panelists. The study, undertaken by IGEF-SO and executed by Grant Thornton Bharat, offers an in-depth exploration of the technical, economic, and social synergies between AgriPV and GH2 systems in India.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Tobias Winter, Director, IGEF-SO, set the context by emphasising India’s remarkable progress in renewable energy and the growing need for land-efficient, people-centric solutions. “Producing Green Hydrogen from Agrivoltaics offers an innovative pathway for rural development and decentralised energy security — empowering farmers to harvest not only crops, but also green molecules,” he noted.

Mr. Vineet Bhatia from Grant Thornton Bharat presented key findings from the study, which includes international case examples, deployment scenarios across scales, and a practical site selection framework that considers land, water, and solar resources. The study also identifies viable business models that balance energy yield, agricultural productivity, and socio-economic benefits for rural communities.

The discussion that followed was both technical and human-centered, focusing on the transformative potential of combining AgriPV and GH2 for India’s energy transition.

“SECI is ready to support capacity building for Agrivoltaics and Green Hydrogen, and to bring future tenders to life. However, more research and development are still needed,” said Mr. Abhishek Kumar Ambasta, Deputy General Manager at SECI, reflecting on the role of policy and innovation in enabling large-scale adoption.

Dr. Arunendra K. Tiwari, Fellow at TERI, highlighted the importance of local empowerment through decentralised systems. “Decentralised energy production and consumption is a clear big thumbs up. They are key to empowering local communities and ensuring energy resilience,” he said.

Speaking from a rural livelihood perspective, Ms. Shubhashree Chakraborty, Associate Director at India Agrivoltaics Alliance (IAA), shared an inspiring vision of the future. “Agrivoltaics has sparked new imagination for rural India – where one piece of land can feed, power, and sustain. Green hydrogen integration may once have sounded far-fetched, but it’s quickly turning into the next frontier for a truly circular rural economy,” she remarked.

Mr. Shardul Kulkarni, Chief Executive Officer at Deesha Power Solutions, brought an industry perspective, emphasising the emerging business case for decentralised hydrogen systems. “Nine major industries are positioned for decentralised GH2 as a decarbonisation and cost-saving initiative,” he observed, underscoring the growing industrial appetite for clean hydrogen solutions.

The session concluded with an engaging Q&A, where the audience and panelists discussed challenges related to policy, financing, and farmer participation, along with the need for more demonstration projects to showcase the real-world feasibility of AgriPV-GH2 systems.

The discussions reflected a shared optimism that India’s vast agricultural lands can serve a dual purpose — producing both crops and clean energy molecules — and in doing so, empower rural communities, strengthen food and energy security, and accelerate the nation’s journey toward an Atmanirbhar Bharat.