The Department of Fertilizers has begun the process of establishing Green Urea plants in India by issuing an Expression of Interest (EOI) and holding a pre-EOI meeting with stakeholders from the fertilizer, energy and green hydrogen sectors.
The meeting, held at Projects and Development India Limited (PDIL) headquarters in Noida, was attended by representatives from public and private sector organizations, including NTPC, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), fertilizer manufacturers, technology providers, and green hydrogen and electrolyser companies.
According to the Department, the proposed framework is aligned with the National Green Hydrogen Mission and aims to facilitate the use of green ammonia in domestic urea production. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has earmarked Rs 19,744 crore under the mission to support green energy infrastructure, while the Department of Fertilizers will develop the policy framework required for integrating green ammonia into fertilizer manufacturing.
To address the higher production cost of green ammonia compared with conventional grey ammonia, the government has proposed an offtaker-side differential subsidy mechanism. Under this arrangement, SECI will procure green ammonia from producers and supply it to fertilizer companies at market-linked grey ammonia prices. The Department of Fertilizers will reimburse the difference between the procurement cost and the selling price.
The policy also proposes annual procurement of 7.24 lakh metric tonnes of green ammonia under the National Green Hydrogen Mission's Mode 2A through a competitive e-reverse auction conducted by SECI. Selected projects will be eligible for financial incentives from the commercial supply stage, with support available for up to 10 years through long-term agreements.
Discussions also covered the 150 tonnes per day (TPD) Green Urea pilot plant at Pudimadaka, Andhra Pradesh, developed by NTPC's R&D arm, NETRA. The pilot project integrates water electrolysis with carbon capture and utilisation technologies to produce green urea.
India currently imports around 1 crore metric tonnes of urea annually, while several domestic urea plants are more than 30 years old. According to the Department, expanding green urea production could help diversify domestic fertilizer production by combining renewable energy, green hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide as feedstock.