• Larsen & Toubro has deferred plans to expand electrolyser manufacturing capacity from 400 MW to 1 GW at Hazira, Gujarat, according to people familiar with the matter, who cite weaker-than-expected green hydrogen demand.
• The company has invested ₹293 crore (₹2.93 billion, approximately $31 million USD) of a planned ₹450–550 crore outlay and says it can reach 1 GW within 12 to 18 months if projects materialise.

arsen & Toubro (BOM: 500510) has pushed back its plan to expand electrolyser manufacturing capacity to 1 GW, as weak green hydrogen demand weighs on investment, according to people familiar with the development cited by the Economic Times.

L&T Electrolysers Ltd (LTEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of L&T Energy GreenTech Ltd, had planned to invest ₹450–550 crore (₹4.5–5.5 billion; approximately $47.6–58.2 million USD) to establish the 1 GW manufacturing capacity at Hazira in Gujarat by March 2027. Its capacity currently stands at 400 MW. The company has invested ₹293 crore (₹2.93 billion) in the project to date.

"Demand for green hydrogen has not panned out as L&T expected, so the company has decided not to expand the capacity from 400 MW right now," an industry executive said on condition of anonymity.

L&T Says Current Capacity Is Sufficient

L&T has not publicly confirmed a deferral. Derek Shah, MD and CEO at L&T Energy GreenTech, told the Economic Times in an email response that the company's assembly line and robotic line capacity was sufficient to cater to current domestic market demand, and framed the position as readiness to scale rather than a pause.

"We are poised to quickly ramp up the assembly/manufacturing line to 1 GW as soon as the market open up and more projects are announced in the green hydrogen/green ammonia/green methanol space," Shah said.

He added that if all projects announced for the domestic market and for export from India materialise, the facility can be ramped up to 1 GW within 12 to 18 months.

"Since the projects of green hydrogen and green ammonia plants typically take upwards of 30/40 months for completion, we do not envisage a challenge to ramp up the manufacturing of the electrolyser plant to required levels to meet the demands of the industry," he said.

McPhy Technology at Hazira

LTEL manufactures electrolysers based on pressurised alkaline technology under a technology licensing agreement with France-based McPhy Energy.

Source:  FCW Team