India Netherlands Launch Green Hydrogen Fellowship and IIT Partnership

India and the Netherlands on Friday unveiled initiatives to strengthen bilateral cooperation in green hydrogen research, marking a significant step in clean energy collaboration. The launch of the India-Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme and a new academic partnership between the University of Groningen and 19 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were announced at a DST-hosted event.

The Hydrogen Fellowship Programme, whose guidelines and call for proposals were released on Thursday, is a national capacity-building initiative targeting doctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty applicants from Indian institutions. Fellows will gain exposure to advanced hydrogen ecosystems in the Netherlands, focusing on areas such as system integration, safety, techno-economic analysis, and pathways for indigenisation of technology.

DST Secretary Prof. Abhay Karandikar emphasized that international collaboration and targeted capacity-building are critical to translating hydrogen research into practical deployment. “Focused partnerships will accelerate India’s clean energy transition, especially in hard-to-abate sectors,” he said, underlining the role of hydrogen in meeting the country’s Net-Zero and energy independence goals.

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Representing the Netherlands, Deputy Ambassador Huib Mijnarends highlighted the strong alignment of energy priorities between the two nations. Prof. Dr. Jouke de Vries, President of the University of Groningen, stressed that long-term academic partnerships are essential for addressing global energy challenges and nurturing skilled human capital in emerging technologies.

Alongside the fellowship, the Department of Science and Technology facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Groningen and 19 IITs. The MoU establishes a framework for faculty and student exchanges, joint research projects, and knowledge sharing in hydrogen and green energy research, without creating automatic financial obligations.

Senior officials and academics from IITs, including Prof. Dhirendra S. Katti (IIT Goa) and Prof. Venkappayya R. Desai (IIT Dharwad), attended the event. The Ministry of Science & Technology noted that these initiatives not only deepen Indo-Dutch scientific cooperation but also strengthen India’s human capital for the emerging global hydrogen economy, supporting national priorities like the Green Hydrogen Mission and Net-Zero emissions by 2070.

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