India Plans To Develop Green Urea Plants, Holds High-Level Industry Meet

Ziraat Times Team Report

NTPC, SECI, fertilizer firms and technology providers participate; India eyes greener alternatives amid annual import of 1 crore tonnes of urea

New Delhi, June 25: The Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has initiated steps towards establishing Green Urea plants in India, holding a high-level Pre-Expression of Interest (EOI) meeting aimed at promoting carbon-neutral fertilizer production, technological self-reliance and sustainable agriculture.

The meeting, held at the headquarters of Projects and Development India Limited (PDIL) in Noida, was chaired by Joint Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, Dr. K.K. Pathak, who is also serving as Chairman and Managing Director of PDIL.

The deliberations followed the recent issuance of an Invitation for Expression of Interest by the Department of Fertilizers for setting up Green Urea plants across the country.

The meeting witnessed participation from stakeholders across the green fertilizer value chain, including representatives from NTPC, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), major fertilizer manufacturers, ammonia and urea technology suppliers, electrolyser manufacturers, and green hydrogen and green ammonia developers. Officials said the strong participation, both online and offline, reflected growing industry interest in the initiative.

During the discussions, participants highlighted the availability of financial support from multiple ministries to make green fertilizer production commercially viable. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has earmarked ₹19,744 crore to accelerate green energy infrastructure development and strengthen India’s clean energy ecosystem, while the Department of Fertilizers is working to establish institutional and market mechanisms to facilitate the integration of green ammonia into the domestic fertilizer sector.

Officials also discussed a differential pricing mechanism aimed at protecting fertilizer manufacturers from higher production costs associated with green ammonia. Green ammonia currently remains more expensive to produce than conventional grey ammonia, affecting the competitiveness of green urea.

Under an existing arrangement, SECI has already floated tenders for procuring green ammonia from producers and supplying it to fertilizer companies at prices linked to prevailing grey ammonia market rates based on international indices and domestic costs. A similar model is being considered for green urea.

The meeting also reviewed incentives available under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM). Under the Green Ammonia Mode-2A programme, SECI has allocated procurement of 7.24 lakh metric tonnes of green ammonia annually through a competitive electronic reverse auction process.

The incentive framework provides support for greenfield and under-construction projects, with financial assistance commencing from the date of commercial supply. Developers will receive benefits for up to ten years through binding Green Ammonia Purchase Agreements (GAPA) and Green Ammonia Supply Agreements (GASA), providing long-term market certainty.

Technical discussions focused on the 150-tonne-per-day Green Urea pilot plant at Pudimadaka in Andhra Pradesh, developed by NTPC’s research arm, NETRA. The facility integrates carbon capture and utilisation technologies with water electrolysis and demonstrates the potential use of carbonated fly ash, food-grade carbon dioxide and synthetic fuels.

Officials noted that India’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and the National Green Hydrogen Mission offer significant opportunities to transform domestic urea production. While green hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in ammonia production, urea synthesis still requires carbon dioxide, making captured CO₂ from thermal power plants, cement units and steel industries an essential feedstock.

A world-scale urea plant with an annual capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes requires nearly 10 lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. India currently imports around one crore metric tonnes of urea annually, while many existing urea plants are more than three decades old, necessitating substantial new production capacity.

The Department said integrated projects combining renewable energy, green hydrogen, carbon capture, green ammonia and urea production could strengthen India’s fertilizer and energy security while supporting national climate goals.

Officials encouraged investors to explore integrated Green Urea projects by leveraging incentives under the National Green Hydrogen Mission and emerging carbon capture policies.