India-EU Green Shipping Corridor: Why India Could Become a Major Fuel Exporter | Today’s news
India has the potential to become a major exporter of green fuels as it works with European partners to develop a green shipping corridor connecting India to Europe, industry leaders said on Wednesday at the Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi.
During a session on India-EU Green Shipping Corridor: Innovation, Action and Scale, industry leaders said India’s renewable energy potential, growing green fuel ecosystem and expanding port infrastructure could position the country as a key supplier for the global shipping industry’s transition to cleaner fuels.
BC Tripathi, vice-chairman of AM Green, said green fuels produced in India should be exported directly, rather than routed through established hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong.
“If green fuels are produced in India, why should they be transported through Singapore or Hong Kong? Now that the fuel is produced in India, why not export it directly from India?”
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Tripathi said the India-EU initiative was significant as it moved from discussions on green shipping corridors to actual implementation, with data and insights emerging from the process.
India sees opportunity to export green fuel
Sudhir Pathak, CTO of Hero Future Energies, said the coalition should help position India as an exporter of green fuels while reducing dependence on imported energy for shipping.
“We want to shape this coalition so that India becomes the next exporter of green fuels and we are able to supply shipping with our own fuel and become completely independent.
Pathak said India could use its abundant solar resources and its expertise in converting intermittent renewable energy into controlled, continuous energy.
The push comes as the global shipping industry faces increasing pressure to reduce emissions.
Anupam Sawhney of Sembcorp India said that shipping accounts for nearly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and that tighter regulation will create demand for scalable supplies of green fuels.
“India is in a leading and unique position to support the transition to green shipping,” Sawhney said, noting the country’s ability to scale renewable energy at competitive costs.
The proposed corridor aims to assess the feasibility of a green hydrogen and green shipping corridor between India and Europe and potentially create a supply chain connecting Indian green fuel producers with European shipping demand.
Green ammonia is emerging as a key fuel
EXMAR’s Rajeev Goyal said India has the potential to develop green ammonia and has already demonstrated its ability to transport and burn ammonia.
“When manufacturers and ports are ready, we are ready to ship.”
Goyal said the company believes the shipping industry will increasingly move towards green fuels and that EXMAR is ready to support this transition.
But industry officials also stressed that producing the green fuel alone will not be enough. Ports will need dedicated infrastructure to store, handle and export these fuels.
Aegis Vopak’s Sudhish Pandey said storage infrastructure at ports will be an “integral and critical” part of the ecosystem.
The company wants to explore shared port infrastructure for storing, exporting and moving green energy and green fuels, he said.
Ports and the shipping industry must move faster
Captain Suraj Sundaresan of Eastern Pacific Shipping said the shipping industry shares the goal of accelerating the transition to lower carbon fuels.
“We need to get out of the country as quickly as possible to reduce emissions and move to a low-carbon sector,” he said.
The emerging India-EU Green Shipping Corridor therefore involves more than the development of alternative fuels.
