India’s First Port-Based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project Inaugurated at VO Chidambaranar Port In Tamil Nadu

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated India’s first port-based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at V O Chidambaranar (VOC) Port on Friday (5 September), marking a landmark step in the country’s clean energy transition.

The Rs 3.87 crore pilot facility, with a capacity of 10 Normal Cubic Meter/Hour, will generate green hydrogen to power streetlights and an electric vehicle charging station in the port colony, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in a statement.

With this, VOC Port has become the first Indian port to produce green hydrogen.

The Minister also laid the foundation stone for a Green Methanol Bunkering and Refuelling Facility of 750 cubic metre capacity at a cost of Rs 35.34 crore.

This initiative, aligned with the proposed Coastal Green Shipping Corridor between Kandla and Tuticorin, is expected to make VOC Port a major green bunkering hub in South India.

Additional projects launched include a 400 KW rooftop solar power plant, taking the port’s total rooftop capacity to 1.04 MW — the highest among Indian ports.

Foundation stones were also laid for a 6 MW wind farm, a Rs 90 crore multi-cargo berth, a 3.37 km four-lane road, and the Tamil Nadu Maritime Heritage Museum.

Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s maritime growth, Sonowal said Chennai, Kamarajar, and VOC Ports have together witnessed 98 projects worth Rs 93,715 crore under Sagarmala in the past 11 years, of which 50 are already completed.

More than Rs 16,000 crore has been invested in modernisation and capacity enhancement of these ports alone, the minister said.

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