Researchers at IIT Guwahati have developed a low-cost catalyst that splits water to produce hydrogen with nearly 88 per cent energy efficiency, using inexpensive, widely available nickel instead of the precious metals like platinum and iridium that currently make green hydrogen production expensive. The development, published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, addresses one of the central cost barriers holding back India's National Green Hydrogen Mission, which remains far behind its 2030 production targets.
Background
Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis, a process that depends heavily on catalysts to make the reaction efficient enough to be commercially viable. The most efficient electrolysers currently available — proton exchange membrane (PEM) systems — rely on catalysts made from platinum and iridium, both scarce, expensive precious metals that India imports, alongside specialised membrane components. That dependency is a major reason green hydrogen in India currently costs between roughly Rs 397 and Rs 560 per kilogram, two to three times the Rs 150-200 per kilogram cost of conventional fossil-fuel-derived grey hydrogen. Within an electrolyser's overall costs, capital investment accounts for nearly 95 per cent of the total, and electrical systems and catalyst materials are a significant share of that capital burden — meaning a genuinely low-cost, non-precious-metal catalyst has the potential to meaningfully shift the economics of the entire production process rather than being a marginal efficiency tweak. Alkaline electrolysers, a competing and generally cheaper electrolysis technology than PEM systems, already avoid the heaviest reliance on platinum and iridium, but typically operate at lower efficiency and slower response times, making them less suited to pairing with variable renewable power sources like solar and wind — a mismatch that has kept interest in developing genuinely high-efficiency, non-precious-metal catalysts for PEM-style systems alive across the global research community, including at IIT Guwahati.
India's National Green Hydrogen Mission has set a target of producing at least 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, backed by 125 GW of dedicated renewable energy capacity and a planned investment exceeding Rs 8 lakh crore, with the mission also aiming to create 6 lakh new jobs and cut 50 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. Progress toward that target has been slow: as of February 2026, India had commissioned only about 8,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen production capacity — roughly 0.16 per cent of the 2030 target with four years remaining. Budget utilisation has told a similar story. Against a revised FY2023-24 allocation of Rs 100 crore, only Rs 11 lakh was actually utilised; in FY2024-25, Rs 300 crore was allocated but only Rs 46.26 crore was spent; and as of March 19, 2026, in FY2025-26, Rs 203.75 crore had been utilised against a Rs 300 crore allocation. Cumulative allocation across the mission's first three years stands at roughly Rs 700 crore against a much larger approved outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. Analysts tracking the mission have noted it has yet to produce a commercially viable price point, a binding demand floor, or a clear published framework linking funds spent to outcomes delivered — context that makes a genuine cost-reducing technical breakthrough, if it scales, more consequential than it might otherwise be. The gap between the mission's ambitious Rs 8 lakh crore investment vision and its actual multi-year budget utilisation of a few hundred crore rupees illustrates a broader pattern seen in large government-led industrial transitions: policy targets and financial commitments are set well ahead of the underlying technology and market conditions needed to absorb that capital productively, leaving a lag during which foundational research — of exactly the kind IIT Guwahati has now published — becomes disproportionately important to closing the gap between ambition and delivery.
The demand side of that equation is not standing still. Green hydrogen's most advanced real-world applications in India today are concentrated in fertiliser manufacturing and transportation, with earlier-stage pilots underway in steel and microgrids. India is the world's second-largest consumer and third-largest producer of fertilisers, an industry that relies heavily on ammonia produced using natural gas — a dependency green hydrogen, combined with atmospheric nitrogen to make green ammonia, is meant to eventually displace. In steel, Tata Steel has successfully piloted injecting around 6 kg of hydrogen per tonne of hot metal in hydrogen-DRI (direct reduced iron) processes, cutting CO2 emissions by 7-10 per cent per tonne of crude steel produced, with JSW running comparable pilots. In transportation, Northern Railway announced in January 2026 that it would begin a pilot run of India's first hydrogen train on the Jind-Sonipat route. Each of these use cases depends on hydrogen becoming cost-competitive at scale, which is precisely the barrier catalyst research like IIT Guwahati's nickel-based approach is aimed at. Long-distance heavy transport is a further application area analysts have flagged, given that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles avoid some of the range and refuelling-time limitations associated with battery-electric trucks, though this use case remains dependent on building out refuelling infrastructure and distribution networks that do not yet exist at meaningful scale in India, with early efforts concentrated around decentralised, small-to-medium production projects rather than a national network.
Key Details
The core facts of the IIT Guwahati catalyst, as reported from the published study:
- The catalyst uses inexpensive, widely available nickel salt as its key component, avoiding the platinum and iridium relied on by current high-performance electrolysers.
- Nickel is combined with an anthracene-based organic molecule to form a coordination polymer, in which anthracene units are interlinked through nickel nodes.
- The material is synthesised through a simple process at room temperature, using ultrasonic waves — a comparatively low-energy, low-complexity manufacturing route compared to processes required for precious-metal catalysts.
- The catalyst achieved nearly 88 per cent energy efficiency in splitting water, with minimal wastage, which researchers say makes it suitable for large-scale hydrogen production.
- The findings were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, co-authored by Akshai Kumar, associate professor in IIT Guwahati's Department of Chemistry, working with Kalishankar Bhattacharyya, assistant professor in the same department, along with research scholars Niharika Tanwar, Jumana Ishrat and Khadimul Islam.
This nickel-based catalyst is a distinct piece of research from a separate IIT Guwahati hydrogen-related development reported earlier in 2026: in March, a different team at the institute, led by Prof P K Giri of the Department of Physics along with research scholars Koushik Ghosh and Sanjoy Sur Roy, published a study in Advanced Functional Materials describing an MXene-based dual-purpose material capable of both hydrogen generation and solar-powered desalination. That MXene catalyst demonstrated an ultralow overpotential of just 12 millivolts in the hydrogen evolution reaction — notably better than conventional platinum-based Pt/C catalysts — and its accompanying desalination system, a floating three-dimensional Janus evaporator, achieved an evaporation rate of about 3.2 kg per square metre per hour under sunlight, running continuously for five days without salt buildup and meeting international drinking-water standards. Taken together, the two studies — one in March focused on a dual hydrogen-and-desalination material, and this new one in August focused specifically on cost-efficient, scalable hydrogen catalysis — reflect a broader, sustained research push within IIT Guwahati's chemistry and physics departments toward cheaper, non-precious-metal approaches to green hydrogen production, rather than a single isolated finding.
The broader scientific field the IIT Guwahati team is working within — porous coordination polymers, sometimes also called metal-organic frameworks, used as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction — has been an active area of global materials-science research precisely because these structures offer a route to sidestep precious metals entirely. Researchers in this field have generally cited two intertwined advantages: cost and sustainability, since precious metals' high price and limited global reserves are widely seen as an obstacle to hydrogen production at the scale needed to meaningfully affect global energy systems, and tunable material properties, since coordination polymers built from earth-abundant metals like nickel, cobalt or iron can be engineered with specific electronic and geometric structures to improve how efficiently they catalyse the reaction. Common design strategies in this space include carefully arranging molecular components to improve electrical conductivity through the material and building in redox-active sites that allow electrons and positive charges to move efficiently during the reaction — the same general design logic reflected in the nickel-anthracene structure IIT Guwahati's team has now reported, where nickel nodes link anthracene units into a conductive, catalytically active framework.
At a Glance
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| New catalyst energy efficiency | ~88% |
| Key catalyst material | Nickel + anthracene-based coordination polymer |
| Synthesis method | Room temperature, ultrasonic waves |
| Conventional catalyst materials | Platinum, iridium (imported, expensive) |
| Green hydrogen cost in India (2026) | Rs 397-560/kg |
| Grey (fossil-fuel) hydrogen cost | Rs 150-200/kg |
| India's 2030 green hydrogen target | 5 million tonnes/year |
| Capacity commissioned as of Feb 2026 | ~8,000 tonnes/year (0.16% of target) |
| Mission cumulative budget utilised (3 years) | ~Rs 700 crore of Rs 19,744 crore approved outlay |
Local Impact
For Assam and the wider Northeast, IIT Guwahati's growing body of green-hydrogen and clean-energy research adds to the institute's standing as a genuine research hub rather than solely a teaching institution — a distinction relevant to how the region positions itself for future clean-energy manufacturing and research investment. If a catalyst like this one moves from laboratory-scale results to commercial deployment, the broader economic effect would be felt more through India's national hydrogen economy than through any specific Assam-based industrial application in the near term, since large-scale electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen production hubs are more likely to be sited near major renewable energy generation capacity, port infrastructure for export, and existing industrial demand clusters — factors that currently favour other regions of India over Assam specifically.
That said, Assam's own energy sector has direct interest in hydrogen cost trends. The state's substantial oil and gas industry, including Numaligarh Refinery's ongoing capacity expansion, and its push toward renewable energy and green industrial policy as part of the state's broader economic growth strategy, mean that any genuine reduction in green hydrogen production costs could eventually factor into how the state's energy and heavy-industry sectors plan decarbonisation efforts, particularly for hard-to-electrify industrial processes where hydrogen is often cited as a leading alternative to fossil fuels. Numaligarh Refinery's roughly Rs 28,000 crore capacity-tripling project, currently over 80 per cent complete, is one example of the kind of large-scale Assam industrial asset that could eventually factor green hydrogen into its own decarbonisation roadmap as production costs fall, though no such plan has been announced by the refinery to date.
There is also a talent and reputation dimension specific to the institute itself. IIT Guwahati's ability to produce internationally publishable materials-science research feeds directly into the same knowledge-hub identity that has helped justify the state's more recent investments in premier institutions, including IIM Guwahati and AIIMS Guwahati, reinforcing Assam's pitch to prospective students, faculty and eventually industry partners that the state hosts genuine research capacity rather than only administrative or teaching infrastructure.
IIT Guwahati's Department of Chemistry has, through this and related studies, been building a specific institutional expertise in materials chemistry aimed at clean energy and water applications — a research specialisation that, if sustained, could eventually make the institute a natural partner for national and international programmes seeking Indian research collaborators in the hydrogen space. India's broader research funding ecosystem, including bodies like the Department of Science and Technology, has increasingly prioritised clean-energy materials research in line with the country's stated 2030 and net-zero-by-2070 climate commitments, meaning institutes producing peer-reviewed, high-efficiency results in this space are well positioned to draw continued grant funding regardless of how quickly any single catalyst reaches commercial deployment.
For students at IIT Guwahati specifically, active, internationally published research programmes of this kind also shape the institute's academic environment directly — postgraduate and doctoral students in chemistry and materials science departments benefit from exposure to funded, cutting-edge projects, and such research profiles are frequently cited by institutions when recruiting new faculty or attracting collaborative funding from both government and industry sources.
What Happens Next
As with most early-stage materials science findings, the practical path from a laboratory result published in a peer-reviewed journal to commercial deployment in actual electrolysers typically involves further steps: scaling up production of the catalyst material beyond lab quantities, testing its durability and performance over extended real-world operating cycles rather than controlled lab conditions, and eventually licensing or partnering with electrolyser manufacturers willing to integrate the material into commercial products. No timeline for any of these steps has been announced by IIT Guwahati or the researchers involved.
On the policy side, the National Green Hydrogen Mission's persistent gap between its 5 million tonne 2030 target and its current sub-1-per cent commissioned capacity means cost-reducing innovations like this one will need to be matched by faster capital deployment, clearer demand-side commitments from industry, and resolved questions about the mission's expenditure framework if India is to meaningfully close that gap within the remaining years to 2030. Whether Union or state government agencies engage directly with IIT Guwahati's catalyst research — through funding, pilot projects or procurement interest — is not yet public, but would be the clearest signal of the technology's path toward real-world deployment.
The demand-side pilots already underway — Tata Steel and JSW's hydrogen-DRI trials, Northern Railway's planned hydrogen train run on the Jind-Sonipat route, and the fertiliser sector's gradual shift toward green ammonia — will also continue independently of any single catalyst breakthrough, and their progress over the rest of 2026 will offer a parallel indicator of whether India's green hydrogen economy is beginning to move from pilot projects to sustained commercial operation. If catalyst costs fall meaningfully in the coming years, whether through IIT Guwahati's nickel-based approach, the institute's earlier MXene work, or competing research elsewhere in India and globally, it would remove one of several barriers that currently sit between these pilots and full commercial-scale rollout — though the mission's own analysts have flagged that a binding demand floor and clearer expenditure framework are equally necessary conditions that a catalyst breakthrough alone cannot resolve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did IIT Guwahati researchers develop?
A low-cost catalyst for producing hydrogen from water through electrolysis, using nickel instead of expensive precious metals like platinum and iridium, achieving nearly 88 per cent energy efficiency.
Why does the catalyst matter for India's Green Hydrogen Mission?
Precious-metal catalysts are a major cost driver behind green hydrogen's current price of Rs 397-560 per kg in India, roughly two to three times the cost of fossil-fuel-based grey hydrogen. A cheaper, nickel-based alternative could help close that cost gap.
How is the new catalyst made?
By combining inexpensive nickel salt with an anthracene-based organic molecule to form a coordination polymer, synthesised at room temperature using ultrasonic waves.
Who developed this catalyst?
Akshai Kumar and Kalishankar Bhattacharyya of IIT Guwahati's Department of Chemistry, along with research scholars Niharika Tanwar, Jumana Ishrat and Khadimul Islam. The findings were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
Is this the same as IIT Guwahati's earlier hydrogen research?
No. A separate IIT Guwahati team led by Prof P K Giri published different research in March 2026 on an MXene-based material for hydrogen generation and solar desalination. This is a distinct, more recent study focused specifically on low-cost, scalable hydrogen catalysis.
How far behind is India on its green hydrogen targets?
Significantly behind. As of February 2026, India had commissioned about 8,000 tonnes per year of production capacity, roughly 0.16 per cent of its 5-million-tonne 2030 target.
How much has India spent on its Green Hydrogen Mission so far?
Roughly Rs 700 crore cumulatively over the mission's first three years, against a much larger approved outlay of Rs 19,744 crore.
When will this catalyst be used commercially?
No timeline has been announced. Laboratory findings like this typically require further scale-up, durability testing and industry partnerships before commercial deployment in electrolysers.
What are the main real-world uses for green hydrogen in India?
Fertiliser manufacturing (via green ammonia) and transportation are the most advanced current applications, with earlier-stage pilots in steel production (Tata Steel and JSW's hydrogen-DRI trials) and a planned hydrogen train pilot by Northern Railway on the Jind-Sonipat route.
Why are platinum and iridium catalysts a problem for India specifically?
India imports both metals along with specialised electrolyser membrane components, adding to the capital cost of electrolysers, which already accounts for nearly 95 per cent of green hydrogen production costs.
Sources
India Today NE, Assam Tribune, Northeast Today, DD News, Public TV English, Asianet Newsable, The News Mill, Careers360, Business Today, Drishti IAS, ANI News.
