Key Details
The Indian Technology Catalogue: Green Fuels 2026, prepared by CEA and the Danish Energy Agency under the India–Denmark Energy Partnership, is a technical reference for energy planning.
What It Covers | Planning Value |
|---|---|
Nine technology areas | Electrolysers; hydrogen storage; green ammonia; biomass gasification; biogas production and upgrading; first-generation ethanol; and methanol made from biomass or electricity-based hydrogen |
Comparable data | Typical plant size, energy inputs and outputs, efficiency, investment, operating costs and technical lifetime |
Future estimates | Cost and performance projections for 2030, 2040, 2050 and 2070, alongside 2024 estimates and uncertainty ranges |
The catalogue states costs in 2023 rupees, excluding taxes and subsidies. Its plant-cost figures do not include the price of electricity or feedstocks, so they are not the final cost of producing a fuel.
One Reference Point for Different Fuel Pathways
Green fuels can be produced through very different processes. The catalogue provides a consistent set of assumptions that planners can use to compare those processes in energy-system models. It also includes Indian project examples, connecting the technical descriptions to facilities operating or under development.
The comparison matters because a technology’s suitability depends on more than its equipment cost. A hydrogen project needs an appropriate electricity supply; a biogas project needs a dependable flow of organic material; and a fuel that must be stored or converted adds further infrastructure requirements.
Electrolyser Choices Involve Cost and Maturity Trade-Offs
For hydrogen made by splitting water, the catalogue examines alkaline, proton exchange membrane (PEM) and solid oxide electrolysers. Alkaline and PEM systems are commercially established, although PEM systems generally cost more. Solid oxide technology can use high-temperature heat as well as electricity, but remains at an earlier stage of commercial development.
These distinctions help explain why a single headline cost cannot describe every green hydrogen project. The catalogue also notes that electricity supply, water availability and plant design can materially alter project costs.
The Figures Support Planning, Not Project Approval
The projections allow users to test how technological improvement might affect future energy choices. They are estimates, not guaranteed price declines. CEA explicitly frames the data as suitable for high-level planning rather than specific investment decisions; local input prices, infrastructure needs and environmental impacts require further assessment.
Policy Relevance
For India, the catalogue can provide a shared evidence base for modelling choices across the National Green Hydrogen Mission and other clean-fuel programmes. That is useful when comparing investments that draw on different resources — renewable electricity, biomass or organic waste — and serve different industrial or transport needs.
Its chief limitation is equally practical: a promising technology comparison does not establish a viable project. Before committing public support or private capital, planners still need to test local electricity and feedstock costs, supply reliability, infrastructure and demand. Keeping those project-specific factors separate from the catalogue’s standard assumptions should make the resulting decisions more transparent.
Follow the Full Report Here: Indian Technology Catalogue: Green Fuels 2026 — CEA publication listing.