Japan wants to create a carbon-free hydrogen supply chain. India plans to more than triple its renewables capacity within this decade, which could create a surplus of energy that could be diverted to producing hydrogen.

The two national strategies are potentially complementary, and both sides are starting to take note. For India, traditionally a buyer of energy-related fuels, this opens the door to large-scale energy exports. For Japan, it’s a way to diversify the geography of its hydrogen supply and secure new providers in a country with which it already enjoys a strong energy relationship.

As 2030 is widely forecast to be when the cost of making hydrogen from renewables starts to be cost-competitive with its manufacture from fossil fuels, India’s green wave could play a major role for Japan and the broader Asia region.


Known quantities

Japan and India already enjoy a strong relationship in energy, holding regular meetings at the ministerial and working-group level. Also, ministers from both countries attend a Japan-Indian Energy Dialog every few years, and, recently, on an annual basis.

There are also numerous task forces with experts and officials from both countries looking at …