India has inaugurated the world's first off-grid green hydrogen plant to manufacture stainless steel, a statement from the country's Steel Ministry said on Monday.
Inaugurated virtually by Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the stainless steel plant is also the country's first to be powered by green hydrogen.
Speaking at the inauguration, Scindia remarked that the facility was in line with India's global commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2070.
The minister also noted that India has transitioned from being a net importer of steel to becoming the world's biggest crude steel producer.
"One key initiative in this journey is the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), launched last year with an outlay of around $2.41 billion with an aim to make India a global hub for production, usage and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives. The mission is also supporting pilot projects in the steel sector with a budget of around ₹600 million until FY 2029-30," Scindia stated.
He underscored that the Indian authorities have established 13 "task forces" to identify areas of focus to implement the Green Hydrogen Mission, which was launched last January with a budgetary outlay of $2.4 billion approx till 2030.
The minister called upon all the stakeholders to come together to build a "sustainable steel industry", adding that "the next era of growth belongs to India and, within India, to the steel industry," the government statement noted.