Oil India’s Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has extended the bidding deadline for its marquee 10,000-tonne-per-year green hydrogen project by two weeks—from July 23 to August 6. The extension follows the sudden suspension of Assam’s state green hydrogen policy, leaving investors uncertain about incentives and subsidy availability.

The NRL tender is among India’s largest in the green hydrogen sector and aims to secure a long-term partner to build and supply hydrogen to the refinery over a 25-year period. However, the abrupt rollback of Assam’s hydrogen incentives—including transmission subsidies and revised bank guarantee norms—has raised serious concerns among developers and potential bidders.

Assam’s policy U-turn comes just months after the state had announced attractive incentives in February 2025 to attract clean energy investments. By June, many of those benefits were rolled back without official explanation, triggering unease across the industry.

The Harit Molecules Foundation (HMF), representing green hydrogen developers, is said to have formally requested NRL for a deadline extension, citing both policy ambiguity and the technical complexity of the project. Neither HMF nor NRL has issued public statements on the matter.

Industry insiders told Reuters that Assam may unveil a revised hydrogen policy by the end of July, but no official communication has been made. In the meantime, the episode has highlighted larger risks in India’s green hydrogen rollout—particularly in underdeveloped states still building up their energy infrastructure and policy frameworks.

As India looks to scale up its hydrogen economy under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, consistent and transparent regional policies will be critical to ensuring investor confidence and long-term success.

Source:

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-india-extends-green-hydrogen-tender-assam-policy-pause-2025-07-24/