Hydrogen transitions in India’s oil refining industry: Comparative insights into firm-level innovation strategies

India’s oil refining industry faces mounting transition pressures due to its high emissions profile, primarily from continued dependence on fossil- based grey hydrogen for multiple core processes. Low-carbon hydrogen has emerged as a critical alternative for the sector, offering pathways to decarbonise refining operations while also enabling diversification into new energy markets. Although refiners experimented with hydrogen for mobility-linked applications in earlier decades, the launch of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) in 2023 has reoriented priorities toward refinery decarbonisation and, more importantly, pushed firms towards large-scale deployment that extends beyond research and demonstration. This paper asks: how Indian refining firms are innovating around low-carbon hydrogen and what external factors are shaping their strategies? To address these questions, the analysis applies an innovation systems perspective to examine firm-level hydrogen strategies and underlying drivers through a comparative case study of India’s major refining firms. The findings reveal contrasting approaches across ownership structures. State-owned enterprises are advancing India’s low-carbon hydrogen ambition by anchoring early demand, absorbing technological risks, and catalysing market formation despite a cost premia. Private refining firms, by contrast, emphasise technology acquisition and vertical integration prior to deployment. While this approach enables deeper technological engagement over the long run, it often defers large-scale projects until risks and costs decline. These divergent strategies are shaped by a combination of economic and socio-political factors, including preferred project development models, approaches to cost and scaling priorities, and the overarching role of softer government mandates.