Consider the following heavy industries:
- 1.Fertilizer plants
- 2.Oil refineries
- 3.Steel plants
Green hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in decarbonizing how many of the above industries?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) All three
All three. Green hydrogen, made by splitting water with renewable electricity, can replace the fossil-based hydrogen that fertilizer plants and refineries use today and the coal and coke that steel plants use for reducing iron ore. The Government of India names all three sectors in its National Green Hydrogen Mission.
- ✓ 1. Ammonia for nitrogenous fertilizers is made from hydrogen obtained from natural gas. Green hydrogen, or green ammonia made from it, can replace that and cut gas imports.
- ✓ 2. Refineries already use large amounts of hydrogen made from fossil fuels; swapping it for green hydrogen lowers a refinery's carbon footprint.
- ✓ 3. Hydrogen can replace coal and coke in iron and steel production, one of the biggest carbon-emitting industries; the Mission funds pilot projects for low-carbon steel.
Remember · Green hydrogen targets hard-to-abate sectors: fertilizer (green ammonia), refining, steel, and long-haul transport and shipping. India's mission aims at 5 MMT a year by 2030.
Sources
- PIB, National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) (Internet Archive copy) ↗ “Green Hydrogen has the potential to replace the utilization of imported fossil fuels across various sectors including fertilizer production, petroleum refining, the mobility sector, steel production and shipping propulsion applications.”
- PIB, Explainer: National Hydrogen Mission (January 2023) ↗ “In industry, hydrogen can potentially replace the coal and coke in iron and steel production.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·