India announced the National Green Hydrogen Mission. 5 million metric tons annually by 2030.
Your 50MW solar plant looks perfect for electrolysis. Free solar power → hydrogen production → sell at ₹300/kg.
One problem: Your solar plant was designed for grid export, not hydrogen production.
The electrical system needs complete redesign. Cost: ₹15-20 crore to retrofit.
Why hydrogen production is completely different
Standard solar plant for grid export:
- Power output: AC, 11kV or 33kV
- Voltage regulation: ±5% acceptable
- Power quality: Grid operator's problem after the meter
- Load profile: Predictable, follows solar curve
- Response time: Seconds to minutes
Solar plant for hydrogen electrolysis:
- Power input: DC required (AC/DC conversion losses 3-5%)
- Voltage regulation: ±1% maximum (electrolyzer damage otherwise)
- Power quality: Your problem—harmonics destroy electrolyzers
- Load profile: Constant 24/7 (requires massive battery storage)
- Response time: Milliseconds (electrolyzer startup/shutdown cycles cost ₹lakhs)
Your existing inverters, transformers, and control systems can't do this.
The electrolyzer problem nobody mentions
Alkaline electrolyzers need constant power:
- Startup time: 30-45 minutes (gradual temperature ramp)
- Shutdown time: 20-30 minutes (controlled cooldown)
- Cycling limit: 2-3 startups per day maximum
- Operating temperature: 60-80°C (must maintain)
Solar power varies by the minute. Clouds, weather, time of day.
What happens with direct solar-to-electrolyzer:
- Morning: Solar ramps up, electrolyzer starts (30 minutes)
- 11 AM: Cloud passes, power drops 40%, electrolyzer shuts down (emergency)
- Cloud clears, electrolyzer restarts (another 30 minutes)
- Afternoon: Another cloud, another shutdown
- End of day: 4 startup/shutdown cycles, electrolyzer lifespan reduced 50%
Electrolyzer capital cost: ₹25-30 crore for 10MW. You just destroyed ₹12-15 crore in equipment value in one year.
The DC-coupling requirement
Current solar plant architecture:
- Solar panels (DC) → Inverters (DC to AC) → Transformer → Grid
- Power conversion efficiency: 96-97%
- Designed for grid synchronization
Hydrogen-ready architecture:
- Solar panels (DC) → DC/DC converters → Battery storage → Electrolyzer (DC)
- No AC conversion = 2-3% efficiency gain
- Designed for constant electrolyzer feed
The retrofit cost:
- Remove/bypass existing inverters: ₹2-3 crore loss
- Install DC/DC converters: ₹5-7 crore
- Add battery storage (50MWh for 24/7 operation): ₹15-18 crore
- New control systems: ₹1-2 crore
- Total: ₹23-30 crore for 50MW retrofit
Or you build it right from day one: ₹8-10 crore incremental cost.
Battery sizing for 24/7 hydrogen production
The math:
- 10MW electrolyzer needs 10MW constant power
- Solar plant: 50MW peak, but only 5-6 hours at peak
- Daily solar generation: 50MW × 5 hours = 250MWh
- Daily hydrogen production needs: 10MW × 24 hours = 240MWh
- Battery storage required: 150-200MWh (to handle nighttime + weather variations)
Battery cost at scale:
- Lithium-ion: ₹1.2-1.5 crore per MWh = ₹180-225 crore
- Sodium-ion (available 2026): ₹80 lakh-1 crore per MWh = ₹120-150 crore
This is why nobody's doing solar-to-hydrogen profitably yet.
The hydrogen business case (when it works)
Green hydrogen production economics:
- Electrolyzer efficiency: 50-55 kWh per kg H₂
- 10MW electrolyzer capacity: 4,000-4,500 kg H₂/day
- Hydrogen sale price (2025): ₹300-350/kg
- Daily revenue: ₹12-15 lakh
Operating costs:
- Power cost (solar + battery): ₹60-70 lakh/day equivalent capital recovery
- Maintenance: ₹5-8 lakh/day
- Water: ₹1-2 lakh/day (9 liters per kg H₂)
- Labor: ₹2-3 lakh/day
- Total: ₹70-85 lakh/day
Gross margin: ₹12-15 lakh revenue - ₹70-85 lakh cost = Negative ₹55-73 lakh per day.
This only works when:
- Hydrogen price hits ₹450-500/kg (government mandates coming)
- Carbon credits add ₹100-150/kg value
- Captive use eliminates transportation cost
- Long-term contracts lock in premium pricing
Timeline: 2026-2027 for positive economics.
The industrial captive use case
If you produce steel/fertilizer/chemicals:
- Current hydrogen source: Steam methane reforming (grey hydrogen)
- Cost: ₹200-250/kg + carbon penalty coming
- Captive green hydrogen: ₹350-400/kg delivered on-site
- Carbon credit value: ₹150-200/kg
- Net cost: ₹150-250/kg = competitive today
Plus: ESG compliance, export market access, carbon tariff avoidance.
Best use cases right now:
- Integrated steel mills (DRI process needs hydrogen)
- Ammonia/fertilizer production
- Petroleum refining (hydrocracking)
- Float glass manufacturing
- Semiconductor fabrication (ultra-pure hydrogen)
Why you need to design for hydrogen NOW
Solar plant lifespan: 25 years
If you build standard solar today:
- 2025-2027: Export to grid at ₹3.50-4.00/kWh
- 2027-2030: Hydrogen mandates kick in, your plant can't produce
- 2030-2035: Hydrogen price premium, you're locked out
- 2035-2050: Retrofit costs exceed new plant construction
If you build hydrogen-ready today:
- 2025-2027: Export to grid (same revenue)
- 2027-2030: Pivot to hydrogen production when economics work
- 2030-2050: Premium hydrogen pricing, your plant captures value
Incremental cost: ₹8-10 crore. Option value: ₹50-100 crore over plant lifetime.
What "hydrogen-ready" actually means
Electrical system requirements:
- DC-coupled solar (bypass AC conversion)
- Oversized battery storage (200-250% of electrolyzer capacity)
- Power quality management (< 1% voltage variation)
- Redundant power paths (N+1 reliability)
- Fast load switching (< 100ms response)
Balance of plant:
- Deionized water system (9-10 liters per kg H₂)
- Cooling infrastructure (electrolyzers generate heat)
- Hydrogen compression (200-350 bar for storage)
- Storage tanks (pressure vessels, safety systems)
- Hydrogen purity testing (99.99% minimum)
Safety systems:
- Hydrogen leak detection (PPM-level sensors)
- Explosion-proof electrical (Zone 1/Division 1 rated)
- Emergency shutdown (fail-safe design)
- Fire suppression (hydrogen-specific)
- Continuous air monitoring
This isn't a retrofit. This is ground-up engineering.
The regulatory landscape
National Green Hydrogen Mission incentives:
- SIGHT program: ₹174/kg subsidy (for 3 years)
- Green Hydrogen Consumption Obligation (coming 2026)
- Viability gap funding for production
- Waived inter-state transmission charges
- Land allocation priority in renewable energy zones
State-level benefits (Odisha/Gujarat/Rajasthan):
- Stamp duty exemption
- Electricity duty waiver
- 100% FDI allowed
- Single-window clearance
The catch: Must start production by 2027 to qualify for Phase 1 benefits.
What we're building different
Standard approach (everyone's doing this):
- Build solar plant for grid
- Add electrolyzer later
- Retrofit battery storage
- Hope economics work
Ziani approach:
- Design for hydrogen from day one
- DC-coupled architecture
- Oversized battery for 24/7 operation
- Modular electrolyzer capacity (scale as demand grows)
The infrastructure we install:
- 50MW DC solar array
- 200MWh battery storage (sodium-ion when available)
- 10MW electrolyzer capacity (expandable to 30MW)
- Hydrogen compression + storage (1,000 kg capacity)
- Full balance of plant
Capital cost: ₹180-200 crore Off-balance-sheet via PPA: ₹0 upfront
You pay per kg of hydrogen delivered. We handle the complexity.
Timeline for different scales
10MW hydrogen production (2,000 kg/day):
- Solar capacity: 25MW
- Battery: 100MWh
- Construction: 8-10 months
- Investment: ₹90-110 crore
25MW hydrogen production (5,000 kg/day):
- Solar capacity: 60MW
- Battery: 250MWh
- Construction: 12-14 months
- Investment: ₹200-240 crore
50MW hydrogen production (10,000 kg/day):
- Solar capacity: 125MW
- Battery: 500MWh
- Construction: 14-16 months
- Investment: ₹400-480 crore
We can finance the entire amount off your balance sheet.
When this makes sense for you
You should build hydrogen-ready solar if:
- You consume > 500 tons H₂/year (captive use case)
- You're in steel/fertilizer/chemicals/refining
- You have 100+ acres available land
- You're planning 50MW+ solar anyway
- Your CFO cares about 2030+ carbon compliance
You should wait if:
- Hydrogen consumption < 100 tons/year
- No captive use case (merchant hydrogen = risky)
- Grid export economics work fine today
- No pressure on carbon compliance yet
But if you're building 50MW solar today for grid export, spend ₹8-10 crore extra to make it hydrogen-ready. The option value is enormous.
The bottom line
India's hydrogen mandate is coming. 5 million tons by 2030.
Industrial consumers will need green hydrogen for:
- Carbon compliance
- Export market access
- ESG reporting
- Cost competitiveness (vs grey hydrogen + carbon penalty)
Your choice:
- Build standard solar now, retrofit later for ₹25-30 crore
- Build hydrogen-ready now for ₹8-10 crore incremental
The power infrastructure you install in 2025 determines your hydrogen optionality for the next 25 years.
We're designing every solar plant to be hydrogen-ready.
You might not produce hydrogen today. But when the economics flip in 2027-2028, you'll be ready.
Your competitors won't be.