India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) and their German counterpart DVGW inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday (January 12, 2026) to establish a cooperative framework for integrating hydrogen into the country’s natural gas infrastructure. The MoU was exchanged during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ongoing visit to India.

Among other things, the memorandum would seek to facilitate knowledge sharing relating to safety methodologies, including leak detection and catching odorisation alongside provisioning hydrogen-ready certification and a supporting database of suitable components and processes. It would also seek to facilitate technical visits and anonymised data sharing.

“The MoU is intended to support evidence-based regulation and standardisation, initially for hydrogen blending and progressively for 100% hydrogen applications, subject to statutory mandate,” stated PNGRB.