Saudi energy firm Alfanar lines up India green hydrogen play, awaits clear policy signals

However, India still lacks assured offtake agreements, says its India CEO

Mumbai: Saudi Arabia-based energy giant, Alfanar Group, is preparing to enter India’s green hydrogen segment once the country’s policy and regulatory framework becomes clearer, Mohammed Irfan, chief executive officer, Alfanar Global Development - India, told ETEnergyWorld.The company has an annual revenue of Rs 620 crore. At present, it has wind power capacity of 506.5 MW operational in Gujarat and while 50 MW is under construction, he said.“Our focus is on a mix of wind and solar hybrid projects, along with energy storage… We are preparing to enter the hydrogen segment once India’s policy framework becomes clearer. Leveraging our international expertise, especially from Egypt and Chile, we aim to replicate successful models in India,” he said in an exclusive interview.He, however, added that while there was growing interest, India still lacked assured green hydrogen offtake agreements. “Once India’s hydrogen market matures in terms of regulatory and policy adaptation or guaranteed offtake emerges, we will definitely be a part of it. In contrast, India’s renewable sector benefits from long-term PPAs with entities like NTPC, SECI, and others,” said Irfan.Apart from this, he added that their Saudi team is also working on developing green hydrogen projects in Egypt and green ammonia in Chile.

The company is actively positioning itself as a key player in the global renewable energy transition and has developed a portfolio of about 1.7 GW of renewable energy projects across Spain, India, and Egypt.

“In Spain, we operate both wind and solar projects. In Egypt, we have a solar project, and in India, we have about 600 MW of wind projects operational,” said Irfan.

The company is also developing a sustainable aviation fuel project in the United Kingdom.

On the challenge of grid evacuation, Irfan said that power evacuation and grid connectivity at CTU/PGCIL substations are already constrained, as multiple independent power producers and land brokers have secured access through land acquisitions and bank guarantees for substations scheduled for commissioning up to 2030. As a result, the earliest available connectivity that can currently be applied for at the CTU level is for the year 2031.