Collaboration, innovation and resilience will shape India’s sustainable energy future

A.S. Sahney, Chairman, IndianOil explains how India is poised to shape global energy conversations through scale, ambition and innovation. 

How does global collaboration contribute to achieving breakthrough climate and energy goals?

Global collaboration is the accelerator that turns ambition into action. Climate and energy challenges are transnational by nature - they demand shared R&D, harmonised standards, pooled finance and coordinated deployment at scale. When countries and companies collaborate, knowledge cycles shorten, risk is shared, and technologies move from pilots to gigawatt-scale deployments far faster than any actor could achieve alone.

Global collaboration needs to focus on key areas:

Joint R&D and pooled capital for capital-intensive technologies (green hydrogen, CCUS, SAF).
Cross-border supply chain integration that reduces cost and increases resilience.
Harmonised standards and certification which unlock global markets for low-carbon products.
Rapid diffusion of best practices - from digital twins to circular materials - that lift whole sectors.

For India - and for IndianOil - collaboration has been a force multiplier. IndianOil’s clean-energy portfolio has benefited immensely from such global partnerships. We are developing one of India’s largest green hydrogen ecosystems, with a 10,000 MT/year green hydrogen project at Panipat. Our leadership in biofuels, including 2G and 3G ethanol, compressed biogas under the SATAT initiative, and SAF, is being strengthened through technology collaborations.
Similarly, our expanding renewable energy footprint - from retail network solarisation to grid-scale renewable power and upcoming hybrid projects - continues to draw on knowledge sharing with global technology leaders.

Platforms such as International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuels Alliance, where India plays a central role, have shown how collective action can unlock breakthrough outcomes. IndianOil stands committed to advancing this collaborative momentum.

Which critical policy drivers are accelerating India’s transition to clean, affordable, secure energy?

First, a stable long-term investment framework for renewables, hydrogen, carbon management and biofuels. India’s mission-mode policies already demonstrate how clarity and consistency unlock capital at scale. PMUY, for instance, has enabled energy access for over 100 million households through free LPG connections. Renewable energy targets have delivered massive scale-up - from under 5GW of solar in 2015 to over 105GW today - placing India among the world’s fastest-growing clean energy markets. Over 50% of the country’s installed electric capacity comes from non-fossil sources, surpassing the 2030 NDC commitment well ahead of time. Similarly, the National Green Hydrogen Mission is setting new benchmarks, with IndianOil’s recent price discovery of ~ $3.8 per KG (without GST) setting a new global benchmark. 
Second, market-creating mechanisms, ranging from demand mandates and pricing support for emerging fuels to create standards that define low-carbon products. The success of the ethanol blending programme is a strong example: demand mandates, long-term offtake arrangements, and tax rationalisation collectively enabled India to advance toward the 20% blending target ahead of schedule.

Third, infrastructure and innovation policies which determine transition pace - grid modernisation, expansion of the national gas pipeline network, creation of EV/LNG and hydrogen corridors, and incentives for R&D, all have a direct impact. IndianOil’s investments in pipeline expansion and work on hydrogen dispensing stations and EV charging stations are direct outcomes of such enabling policy frameworks.

How is digital technology improving efficiency and resilience in existing energy systems?

As we transition toward a more complex, multi-source energy landscape, digitalisation enables us to operate with greater precision, flexibility and security. The rapid emergence of AI, advanced analytics and automation is creating unprecedented opportunities to improve reliability, reduce emissions, forecast demand, optimise operations in real time, and enhance safety across the entire value chain. It also prepares our infrastructure for deeper renewable integration and increasingly decentralised energy models.

IndianOil is undertaking a bold digital pivot, embedding automation, AI, machine learning, robotics and digital twins across all verticals. These technologies enable predictive maintenance, seamless supply-chain intelligence, dynamic pricing, smarter retail experiences and significantly lower operational risk.