Green Ammonia Agreements Mark Big Step in Decarbonising India’s Fertilizer Sector

India took a significant step toward cleaner fertilizer production and stronger energy security on March 31, 2026, as fertilizer companies and green ammonia producers exchanged a set of long-term supply agreements under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The Department of Fertilizers said the agreements are intended to help operationalise green hydrogen and green ammonia projects for the fertilizer sector, while reducing dependence on imported ammonia.

The move is important because India’s phosphatic and potassic fertilizer production, including DAP and NPK variants, still relies heavily on imported ammonia. According to the PIB release, India currently produces around 165–170 lakh metric tonnes of P&K fertilizers, but volatility in global ammonia markets and geopolitical disruptions have affected both availability and prices. By locking in green ammonia supplies through long-term contracts, the government is trying to create a more stable input pipeline for domestic fertilizer manufacturing.

At the centre of the initiative are Green Ammonia Purchase Agreements and Green Ammonia Supply Agreements signed for multiple projects linked to fertilizer units across the country. These agreements, exchanged in New Delhi in the presence of Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Pralhad Joshi, are designed to give producers and buyers a dependable framework for scaling the use of green ammonia in India’s fertilizer chain. Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J.P. Nadda described the development as a historic step toward sustainable fertilizer production, energy security, and self-reliance.

The government said the agreements will run for 10 years, giving long-term demand visibility and investment confidence to green ammonia developers. Under the SIGHT programme, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) conducted competitive bidding for supply to fertilizer plants, with discovered prices ranging from ₹49.75 to ₹64.74 per kg, substantially below the international benchmark of roughly ₹110 per kg, according to the release. SECI has allocated a total of 7,24,000 tonnes per annum of green ammonia supply linked to 13 fertilizer units.

The expected benefits extend beyond emissions reduction. PIB said the initiative should help cut the fertilizer industry’s carbon footprint, support the shift from grey to green ammonia, save about $2.5 billion in foreign exchange over 10 years, and encourage fresh investment in domestic green ammonia capacity. The government also argues that a more stable ammonia supply environment could draw new players into the fertilizer sector and support future manufacturing expansion.

The agreements involve companies such as IFFCO, Coromandel International, Paradeep Phosphates, Ostwal group units, and Indorama India, with supplies awarded to developers including ACME Cleantech, Jakson Green & OCIOR, NTPC Renewable Energy, Oriana Power, and SCC Infrastructure. The supply allocations span major fertilizer locations including Kandla, Paradeep, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Zuarinagar, Mangalore, Meghnagar, Sagar, Dhule, and Haldia, showing that the green ammonia push is being linked to a wide industrial footprint rather than a single pilot cluster.

More broadly, the development fits into India’s larger clean-energy strategy. The National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore, aims to support production of at least 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030. In that context, the fertilizer sector’s adoption of green ammonia is emerging as one of the earliest large industrial use-cases where clean hydrogen derivatives can move from policy ambition to actual commercial deployment.

Reference: PIB