India has achieved a significant milestone in its green hydrogen journey as ACME Group and Japan's IHI Corporation secured long-term government support for their green ammonia project in Gopalpur, Odisha, under Japan's clean hydrogen policy framework.
The project, with a planned production capacity of 405,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of green ammonia, has been certified under Japan's Hydrogen Society Promotion Act, making it one of the first international projects to receive support through the country's demand-side hydrogen incentive programme.
Under the programme, 228,000 TPA of green ammonia has been selected under Japan's Clean Hydrogen Contract for Difference (CfD) mechanism, receiving price-gap support over a 25-year period beginning in September 2030. A further 177,000 TPA of production capacity has been earmarked under Japan's Long-Term Decarbonized Power Source Auction (LTDA), creating a long-term demand pathway for the project's full production capacity. The project is expected to commence operations by July 2030.
The development represents India's first long-term green ammonia supply arrangement with Japan, strengthening the growing clean energy partnership between the two countries. It also increases India's announced green ammonia offtake commitments to more than 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), reinforcing the country's emergence as a future global exporter of low-carbon fuels.
The project builds upon the strategic partnership announced between ACME Group and IHI Corporation in January 2024, when both companies agreed to jointly develop large-scale green ammonia production facilities in Odisha for international markets.
For Japan, the agreement supports its long-term strategy to diversify clean fuel imports, strengthen energy security, and decarbonise power generation and hard-to-abate industries. For India, it provides another strong validation of the country's competitiveness in renewable-powered hydrogen production and its growing role in the global hydrogen value chain.
More broadly, the project demonstrates how coordinated public policy, long-term demand certainty, international collaboration, and private sector investment can accelerate the commercialisation of green hydrogen and its derivatives. As global hydrogen markets continue to evolve, such bankable cross-border partnerships are expected to play an increasingly important role in scaling international trade in clean molecules.
GH2 India congratulates ACME Group, IHI Corporation, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, the Government of Japan, and all stakeholders involved in advancing this landmark initiative. The partnership represents another important step towards strengthening the India–Japan clean energy corridor and supporting the development of a trusted global hydrogen economy.
