While IndianOil has been working on various hydrogen production pathways, the current project at Mathura Refinery will be pioneering the introduction of green hydrogen in the Indian oil & gas sector. The company will build the nation's first green hydrogen plant at its Mathura refinery.

"IndianOil has drawn a strategic growth path to focus on its core refining and fuel marketing businesses while making bigger inroads into petrochemicals, hydrogen, and electric mobility over the next ten years," said IndianOil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya. "IndianOil has a wind power project in Rajasthan. We intend to wheel that power to our Mathura refinery to produce absolutely green hydrogen through electrolysis".

Vadiya added that the Mathura refinery was selected because of its proximity to TTZ (Taj Trapezium Zone).

"As we see it, the green hydrogen will replace carbon-emitting fuels used in the refinery to process crude oil into value-added products such as petrol and diesel. Moreover, we have got several expansion plans down the line which are already approved. We will not have a captive power plant and will utilise power from the grid, preferably green power. This will help decarbonise some part of the manufacturing," Vadiya said.