India, UK discuss green hydrogen safety standards at conference in New Delhi
Policymakers, industry leaders and technical experts from India and the United Kingdom met in New Delhi last week to discuss standards and safety protocols for green hydrogen, as both countries seek to strengthen cooperation in scaling up the emerging clean energy sector.
The India–UK Conference on Green Hydrogen Standards and Safety Protocols, held on February 27, brought together representatives from government agencies, industry, academia, standards bodies and research institutions to deliberate on regulatory frameworks and safety practices across the hydrogen value chain.
The conference was organised by the National Centre for Hydrogen Safety (NCHS) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in collaboration with the British High Commission in India and WRI India.
Participants discussed safety standards for hydrogen production, storage, transportation and end-use applications as part of efforts to support India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission.
Delivering the keynote address, Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary in the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, highlighted the importance of robust safety frameworks, standards development and international collaboration to enable large-scale deployment of green hydrogen technologies.
The conference also saw participation from key regulatory bodies. Officials from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation shared perspectives on compliance, risk assessment and hazard management for hydrogen systems, while the Bureau of Indian Standards outlined efforts to align Indian hydrogen standards with global best practices.
Technical sessions featured discussions by experts from organisations including NTPC, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the Automotive Research Association of India, Cochin Shipyard, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Cochin University of Science and Technology and IIT Madras.
The sessions covered safety practices across the hydrogen value chain, including system design, storage and transport safety, risk assessment methods and the use of emerging technologies such as advanced sensors and AI-based monitoring.
Officials said the conference concluded with a shared commitment from India and the UK to strengthen collaboration on standards development, regulatory capacity building and safety frameworks to support the safe and large-scale deployment of green hydrogen technologies.
