India can trade $3-5 billion of green hydrogen annually: Alvarez & Marsal

Alvarez & Marsal, a consulting firm, has come out with its new report that projects that India’s green hydrogen industry will require significant financial backing, ranging from $4 to $12 billion, until 2030 to achieve scalability.

The Alvarez & Marsal report estimates the global trade potential of green hydrogen to be between $24 and $36 billion by 2030.

This support is deemed necessary to level the playing field against global competitors benefiting from government subsidies and to facilitate the affordable transition of domestic sectors towards green alternatives. By providing this support, the report suggests that competitive market sectors can embrace sustainable alternatives sooner.

India, identified alongside the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, is considered among the top three countries well-positioned for global green hydrogen competitiveness, thus poised to claim a significant portion of the global trade. The firm anticipates that by 2030, these countries could produce green hydrogen for less than $2/kg.

Alvarez & Marsal examines how India can leverage its natural advantages for making green hydrogen and potentially take a leading position globally. The paper underlines the need for India to invest early in green hydrogen to gain first-mover advantage in the green hydrogen economy.

With an early-mover advantage, India could expand its share of the global energy market, decrease reliance on imports, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG), and catalyze domestic GDP growth.

The report forecasts potential exports worth $3–5 billion and import substitution totaling $7–15 billion by 2030, paving the way for larger opportunities in the future.

Additionally, apart from green hydrogen generation, Alvarez & Marsal anticipates that India, along with Mainland China, will lead in the manufacturing cost of electrolyzers, the primary equipment for producing green hydrogen.

The report says that hydrogen will serve 10–20 percent of the world’s energy demand by 2050. Global hydrogen trade is expected to be in the range of USD 24–36 billion by 2030.