Honeywell to speed up India’s transition to green hydrogen, SAF: Ashish Modi

Honeywell is supporting India’s transition to green hydrogen by helping enterprises and governments move from pilots to safe, bankable, and scalable assets by offering proven process technologies, advanced automation, and hydrogen-specific digital solutions, said Ashish Modi, President, Honeywell, India & APAC.

Honeywell India, a key subsidiary of North Carolina-based Honeywell International Inc.,which has a market capitalisation of over $147 billion, offers integrated software and technology-driven solutions to key business verticals, automation, aviation, and energy transition.

Setting the context, he said, Green Hydrogen was becoming critical, especially as India continued to rapidly scale its renewables and industrial corridors and has a target to position itself as a global hub for green hydrogen production, exports, and domestic decarbonisation.

Mr. Modi told The Hindu that, ”Our approach is technology-agnostic and safety-first, built on decades of operational excellence in complex industrial environments. Honeywell is among the first automation companies to develop customised offerings for the green hydrogen segment and we are working with multiple developers in India.’’

Elaborating on Honeywell’s contribution towards green hydrogen across industry spaces, he said, in refining and petrochemicals, where Indian refineries are among the country’s largest hydrogen users, the company’s solutions help integrate electrolysers into existing sites, improve hydrogen purity, and strengthen safety systems, supporting the shift from grey to green hydrogen.

In fertilizers, as companies explore green hydrogen for ammonia production, Honeywell ensured a reliable hydrogen supply despite renewable intermittency through energy management software, digital twins, and performance optimisation platforms, he stated.

For steelmakers piloting hydrogen in DRI (direct reduced iron) and high-heat processes, Honeywell supports hydrogen-ready combustion controls, plant automation, and leak detection to enable safer and more stable operations. “We also support city gas distribution networks evaluating hydrogen blending through hydrogen-compatible monitoring, measurement, and safety systems, and enable mobility and logistics hubs with fuel-cell components, depot automation, and safety and monitoring solutions,’’ he added.

Additionally, Honeywell also enables renewable-linked microgrids by coordinating wind-solar-battery-electrolyser systems to maximise utilisation and minimise curtailment.

According to him, across the green hydrogen value chain, Honeywell’s offerings span upstream production (electrolyser integration, purification, safety), midstream (storage monitoring, leak/flame detection, pipeline integrity), and downstream end-use (hydrogen-ready controls and automation), with a strong digital layer through an enterprise performance management platform and digital twins.

By integrating multi-vendor assets under a common control and safety architecture, Honeywell helps lower the levelised cost of hydrogen, accelerate commissioning, and enable faster multi-site replication across India, Mr. Modi claimed adding, “These ultimately result in achieving improved energy optimisation, extended asset life, and the capabilities to scale green hydrogen production with confidence.’’

The company is also advancing multiple pathways for Sustainable Aviation Fuel in India

Mr. Modi further said, India was also poised to play a meaningful role in the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), supported by innovations that convert biomass-based feedstocks into cleaner, drop-in replacement fuels.

This opens the door for domestic SAF production and the potential to serve regional aviation needs over the long term. At the industrial level, advanced Asset Performance Management (APM) systems, is a data-driven strategy using IoT, AI, and predictive analytics, were giving manufacturers and energy operators the ability to predict failures early, improve uptime, and extend equipment life by combining sensor data with real-time analytics, he explained.

“As global industries look for cleaner fuels, smarter buildings, and digitally optimised operations, India is well positioned to scale these innovations, not only for its own growth, but also for international markets seeking resilient and sustainable solutions,’’ he anticipated.

Honeywell was advancing multiple Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pathways globally and in India through a portfolio of proven clean-fuel technologies. These pathways produce drop-in jet fuel that is fully compatible with today’s aircraft and airport infrastructure. More than 70 sites worldwide have already licensed Honeywell’s SAF technologies, eight facilities are operational, and over 40 licensed plants are expected to come online by 2030. In India, we are working closely with a strong set of partners to build a domestic SAF ecosystem. This includes our ongoing collaborations with NTPC Green, AM Green, and global players such as Repsol, Acelen Renewables, DG Fuels, SGP BioEnergy, Jiutai New Material, and GranBio to explore production pathways tailored to India’s feedstock landscape.

“We have also introduced our new Biocrude Upgrading Technology, which converts low-cost biomass—including agricultural and forestry residues—into renewable biocrude that can be refined into SAF, renewable diesel, and other low-carbon fuels. This greatly expands India’s feedstock options and helps lower long-term production costs. Across all these SAF pathways, we estimate that running engines on 100% SAF will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Honeywell products by 60%-80% making them a strong enabler of aviation decarbonisation,’’ he stated.

As partners complete feasibility work and move toward project development, India was expected to see early SAF capacity emerge over the next few years, aligning with the country’s blending expectations, Mr. Modi predicted. With key projects on the horizon, India was building the foundation for a domestic, scalable, and commercially viable SAF industry that allows airlines to transition to cleaner fuels without operational disruptions, he opined.

According to him, early SAF batches have already been produced and tested in India, and as policy frameworks mature and production ramps up, availability is expected to grow steadily—supporting both environmental goals and long-term aviation competitiveness.