Long before most ports began talking about decarbonisation, Deendayal Port at Kandla, Gujarat was already laying pipe — literally. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal amplified a post on Saturday, 26 September 2026 highlighting the port's expanding green energy footprint, anchored by a freshly commissioned e-Methanol plant that adds a new chapter to an ecosystem years in the making.

A 1 MW electrolyser, 3,400 acres, and a bunkering first

The post spells out a layered story of infrastructure built in sequence. Deendayal Port — formerly known as Kandla Port and one of India's oldest and largest bulk-cargo handlers — has commissioned a 1 MW electrolyser-based Green Hydrogen plant, the foundational unit of any port-side green fuel hub. Alongside it, roughly 3,400 acres have been set aside specifically for Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia projects, signalling that this is industrial-scale ambition, not a pilot nod.

Earlier this year the port crossed another milestone: a successful methanol bunkering operation — supplying methanol as marine fuel to a vessel. That single event matters disproportionately. Bunkering infrastructure is what turns a production site into a living green-fuel corridor, and very few Indian ports have crossed that line.

Where the e-Methanol plant fits India's net-zero shipping plan

The new e-Methanol plant closes the loop. Green hydrogen produced via electrolysis can be converted into e-Methanol — a carbon-neutral liquid fuel that ships can burn today with modest engine modifications. Producing and bunkering it at the same port removes the costly logistics of transporting fuel from inland facilities, which has historically undermined the economics of alternative marine fuels.

This trajectory aligns directly with India's National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved in 2023, which set domestic production targets and flagged hard-to-abate sectors — including maritime shipping — as priority use cases. Deendayal Port's cluster approach, stacking hydrogen production, large land allocation, bunkering trials, and now e-Methanol output, mirrors what the Mission's architects envisioned as a port-led demonstration model.

The port-led industrial development logic traces back further still, to the Sagarmala Project launched in 2015, which repositioned India's major ports not just as cargo gateways but as industrial anchors. Kandla's green fuel cluster is arguably the most concrete expression of that decade-old bet.

Why timing matters for global shipping rules

The International Maritime Organization has tightened its emissions roadmap, pushing shipowners to decarbonise well before 2050. Vessels calling at Indian ports need access to compliant fuels — methanol and ammonia among the leading candidates — or face surcharges and route penalties as regulations bite. A port that produces, stores, and supplies e-Methanol domestically holds a competitive card over rivals still dependent on fossil-fuel bunkering.

India's net-zero target of 2070 adds a domestic dimension: every tonne of e-Methanol supplied to a vessel is a tonne of heavy fuel oil displaced. At Kandla's cargo volumes, those tonnes add up fast.

The next number to watch is capacity: how quickly the e-Methanol plant scales from demonstration to commercial output, and whether similar clusters follow at other major ports. Kandla has built the proof of concept — the rest of India's coast is paying close attention.