Indian Oil Plans to Set Up Green Hydrogen Fuel Retail Network

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), the country's largest oil-marketing company with over 37,500 petrol stations, is working on a new business plan to set up green hydrogen fuel dispensing pumps across India, chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said in an interview.

- Rituraj Baruah

Sahney said that apart from captive consumption at its refineries, where Indian Oil would look at replacing grey hydrogen with green hydrogen, the company aims to eventually cater to the mobility demand in the country, thereby retailing green hydrogen fuel cells.

He believes that due to critical safety requirements for hydrogen, separate and enhanced safety norms would be necessary for green hydrogen stations. This would require oil marketing companies (OMCs) to establish dedicated infrastructure for retail sales of the fuel. The playbook is part of Indian Oil's $30 billion investment plan to achieve net zero by 2046, and involves the refiner to meet its captive demand, followed by catering to mobility requirements and exports.