Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is expected to award the tender for the country’s largest green hydrogen plant—capable of producing up to 10 kilo tonnes annually—by mid-May, according to Chairperson Arvinder Singh Sahney, reports Business Standard.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Sahney said the company has taken extra steps to ensure the success of the bidding process after two earlier attempts were unsuccessful. The plant will be built at IOCL’s Panipat Refinery and Petrochemicals complex under a build-own-operate-transfer model.
The project is part of IOCL’s broader plan to establish green hydrogen units at all its refineries, a key initiative in its ₹2.4 trillion green transition strategy aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2046.
The initial tender, floated earlier this year, was scrapped in February after it sparked legal action in the Delhi High Court. Bidders raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest, as GH4India Pvt Ltd—a joint venture between IOCL, Larsen & Toubro, and ReNew Power—was also competing for the contract. The Independent Green Hydrogen Producers Association supported the legal challenge.
A revised tender issued in August also failed to move forward, reportedly attracting only two bids: one from GH4India and the other from Neometrix Engineering, based in Noida. The terms required the selected company to begin hydrogen gas supply within 30 months of the contract being awarded.
The project includes a 75 MW electrolyser setup to generate 300 MW of clean energy, with a total estimated investment of around $400 million.
If successful, the Panipat project will mark a major milestone in India’s push toward cleaner energy and serve as a model for future green hydrogen ventures across the country.
