Written by PPL Newsroom• October 4, 2026• 2:31 pm• Business & Sustainability

Indian green ammonia makers win long-term export contracts from Japan and Germany

AM Green, ACME and L&T Energy GreenTech have signed 10-year or take-or-pay supply deals, moving India’s green hydrogen sector from pilot plans to contracted sales.

Indian green hydrogen producers are now signing binding export contracts. On 1 October 2026, AM Green was named sole winner of the Asian lot in Germany’s H2Global auction. This follows deals with Japanese buyers in April and July. Long-term buyers give developers the revenue certainty they need to raise money and build large plants.

The deals, in numbers

According to pv magazine India, AM Green will sell ammonia to Hintco, the trading arm of H2Global, over 10 years for a minimum value of €585 million. First deliveries to Germany are expected in 2029, shipped from Kakinada Seaports, which sits directly alongside the plant. The ammonia will come from Kakinada Phase 2 in Andhra Pradesh, where the company plans to convert an existing natural gas-based ammonia and urea complex into a renewable ammonia facility.

AM Green also has a binding agreement with Germany’s Uniper. It covers 500,000 tonnes a year of RFNBO-certified ammonia, shipped to Europe as early as 2028. RFNBO is the European Union’s standard for renewable fuels not made from biological sources.

In Japan, ACME Group signed agreements in New Delhi in July. ACME will supply 405,000 tonnes a year of green ammonia to IHI Corporation and 100,000 tonnes a year of green methanol to Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, over 10 years from its Paradip facility. ACME plans investments of nearly Rs 67,000 crore across two green ammonia plants and one green methanol facility in Odisha.

L&T Energy GreenTech signed in April. It will supply 300,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year to ITOCHU on a captive, take-or-pay basis. Under take-or-pay, the buyer pays even if it does not collect the volume. The supply will mainly support ammonia bunkering, or ship refuelling, in Singapore. The plant at Kandla, Gujarat, is still described as proposed.

Why these contracts exist

Green hydrogen and its derivatives still cost more than fossil fuels, and foreign price support makes many of these deals workable. ACME’s ammonia deal is backed by Japan’s Contract for Difference scheme, run by its trade ministry, which provides price support to Japanese buyers. The H2Global auctions are funded by national governments including Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.

Japan’s vice minister of economy, trade and industry, Takehiko Matsuo, said India’s green fuels are globally cost-competitive, according to a report by alcircle. He also said Japan’s decarbonisation and energy-security efforts should lift demand.

Analysts have urged some caution. S&P Global Energy’s Anri Nakamura said Europe’s mandates favour Indian green hydrogen. She added that Japan and South Korea’s carbon limits are lenient enough that blue hydrogen or ammonia from elsewhere may compete on price.

What this means for India

The National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved in January 2023, aims to make India a major producer and exporter. It estimates India could export about 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen or ammonia a year. Signed offtake contracts for plants in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat show the strategy attracting paying customers. Most of these plants are still being built. Deliveries are due from 2028–29, so jobs and investment will follow construction progress.

What happens next

The next test is delivery. Hintco is expected to publish full auction results before the end of 2026, alongside results from other regional lots. That will show how Indian bids compare globally. AM Green’s CEO had earlier said production at Kakinada should begin in early 2027. Whether plants are finished on schedule and meet EU and Japanese certification rules will decide if these contracts become steady exports.