Deendayal Port Authority, APCL sign MoU for new e-methanol plant in major green energy push

The Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited (APCL) at Dibrugarh for a new e-methanol plant with a capacity of 150 tonnes per day (TPD).

The new e-methanol plant, which will be installed at the premises of the major port in Gujarat's Kandla, marks a major push for maritime decarbonisation, while also being indigenously developed by the APCL, in line with the 'Make in India' initiative.

The MoU signing event at the CM Secretariat in Dibrugarh saw the attendance of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Dibrugarh MP and Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal, and other officials from the chief minister's cabinet.

This comes just a day after the DPA awarded Oswal Greenzo Energies a contract for the production of India's first port-based green hydrogen plant under the central government's Sagarmala initiative.

The contract for the 5 megawatt (MW) plant will be executed on an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) basis, and can be expanded up to 10MW using common infrastructure.

Oswal Greenzo Energies is a joint venture between clean-tech firm Greenzo Energy India and EPC solutions provider Oswal Energies.

The plant is expected to generate more than 800 tonnes of green hydrogen annually—a major push in making port operations sustainable.

"Deploying green hydrogen at this scale within a port ecosystem demonstrates how clean hydrogen can be integrated into high-throughput, mission-critical infrastructure," explained Kushal Agarwal, Executive Director, Greenzo Energy.

The project is also expected to provide a major step forward for the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), which promotes the adoption of green hydrogen in the maritime sector through a number of initiatives. This includes the creation of green hydrogen hubs at the Deendayal, V.O. Chidambaranar, and Paradip ports, in line with the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal 2047.