India’s energy roadmap: 5 key themes for IEW 2026

India Energy Week 2026 takes place in Goa from 27 to 30 January and we are delighted to be moderating a varied series of sessions at the event. As the world’s most populous country and fastest growing major economy, India has a vital role to play in the global energy transformation. But how can continuing growth be balanced with the need for energy security and a successful energy transition? 

Our research team have put together an in-depth report exploring how India can position itself most effectively to address this energy trilemma. Fill out the form at the top of the page to download an extract from the full report, or read on for a brief summary of the five key themes we believe India must focus on to ensure success.  

Theme One: The energy security imperative 

We expect India’s position as the world’s growth champion to continue, with a differentiated annual GDP growth trajectory of 6% plus through to 2035. A focus on enhancing the share of GDP made up of exports and manufacturing will drive strong additional demand for energy. 

As well as being a high-growth economy, India is a net importer of energy. The issue of energy security is therefore particularly pertinent for the country, which will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, particularly oil and gas imports. Supply chain integration will be key to boosting energy security, while trade deals, focused infrastructure development and incentives to enable manufacturing competitiveness remain challenges to address. 

Theme Two: The carbon crossroads 

The next decade will be decisive for India in terms of its emissions trajectory, as choices made will either prevent or lock in carbon-intensive pathways. Our base-case forecast is for energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to rise by around 25% from their current levels over the next 10 years, driven by unprecedented expansion in manufacturing as well as ambitious home building and infrastructure projects.  

Clean energy alone will not be enough to offset the impact of this rapid industrial growth. However, if it acts now, India has a unique opportunity to become a low-carbon manufacturing powerhouse. To achieve this, it will need to speed up adoption of low-carbon technologies in heavy industry, shift from voluntary to mandatory carbon pricing, and commit to a broader redesign of its economy’s energy use. 

Theme Three: Powering prosperity 

The next decade will be critical for scaling up India’s clean energy technologies and deploying capital at scale. Grid modernisation, along with EV infrastructure, clean power generation and energy storage buildout will be key focuses of investment, while buildings, transport and to a lesser extent clean tech manufacturing will also see significant capex.  

We believe a 2°C pathway remains possible, with India achieving net zero by 2070. However, that would require 20% higher investment in energy than the US$1.5 trillion we forecast over the next decade, including a significant ramp-up in spending on transition technologies such as low-carbon hydrogen and CCUS. The challenge will be to mobilise capital quickly but efficiently, minimising long-term risk from warming while maintaining affordability and ensuring a resilient energy system.  

Theme Four: The clean molecule frontier 

While renewable electricity capacity targets are on track, our forecast shows a vast supply gap for green hydrogen. A lack of mature projects will prevent India getting anywhere near its hydrogen production target of 5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2030 — we forecast just 0.3 Mtpa of risked green supply by the end of the decade, with just 0.18 Mtpa already under construction.  

The country will therefore continue to rely on imports including natural gas and ammonia through 2035. Signposts to watch that might shift the dial include greater policy transparency, state-level capex subsidies, evolving tenders for credible price discovery, alignment of power procurement, demand creation from Hydrogen Purchase Obligations (HPOs) and the development of transmission infrastructure. Other technologies like CCUS will need policy framework implementation and an enabling ecosystem to be in place for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors.  

Theme Five: Decarbonising transportation 

Like green hydrogen production, Indian electric vehicle manufacturing is lagging expectations. Component supply is a major factor, with India relying heavily on imports for battery and key battery raw materials. This dependency pushes up costs and raises supply chain risk, limiting the rollout of battery production. Even with 200 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity planned by 2035, only half may come on stream.  

As a result, by 2035 we expect passenger electric vehicle penetration of only 18% (for context, the UK aims for all passenger vehicles to be zero emissions by that date). While some opportunities exist for domestic lithium exploration and development, strategic alliances with Australia and Latin America will remain important. Other areas of focus to improve uptake could include investment in battery recycling and lithium extraction and processing technologies, along with incentives and exemptions for mineral exploration and importing raw materials. 

Don’t forget to fill out the form at the top of the page and download the report extract, which includes a wide range of charts and data expanding on these themes.