Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage

Key Highlights:

• Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is identified as a critical pathway for India to achieve its Net Zero by 2070 vision, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors.
• The Union Budget 2026–27 allocated ₹20,000 crore over five years for a CCUS Scheme targeting five major industrial sectors.
• India's first integrated CCUS Field Laboratory was inaugurated at IIT Bombay in May 2026, capable of capturing up to 3 tonnes of CO2 daily.
• NITI Aayog and the Department of Science and Technology advocate a CCUS Hubs and Clusters Model to integrate emitters with shared infrastructure.
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched India's first cluster of five Carbon Capture and Utilisation testbeds for the cement industry in May 2025.
• ESTIC-2026, organized by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), will feature CCUS as a key energy technology.
• As of April 2026, India has 3 operational, 6 under execution, and 16 proposed CCU projects across various states.

Detailed Insights:

• CCUS complements renewable energy by addressing emissions from industrial processes that are difficult to electrify, such as those requiring high temperatures or carbon-based inputs.
• The process involves capturing carbon dioxide from industrial sources, transporting it, and then either utilizing it in productive applications or storing it securely underground.
• Hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, and fertilizers are major contributors to industrial emissions, making CCUS crucial for their deep decarbonization.
• The hub and cluster model aims to achieve economies of scale and reduce infrastructure risks by connecting multiple CO2 emitters with common transport, utilization, and storage facilities.
• CCUS is essential for developing a low-carbon hydrogen economy, specifically through the production of blue hydrogen from coal gasification with carbon capture.
• It enables the continued operation of existing fossil-fuel-based energy infrastructure by reducing their emissions during India's transition to cleaner sources.
• Captured CO2 can be utilized as a feedstock for various products, including building materials, synthetic fuels, chemicals, and enhanced oil recovery.
• Government initiatives include policy frameworks, R&D roadmaps, national research centers at IIT Bombay and JNCASR, Bengaluru, and international collaborations under Mission Innovation.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS): A set of technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources, transport it, and then either reuse it or store it permanently underground.
• Net Zero by 2070: India's national commitment to achieve a state where its greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by removals from the atmosphere by 2070.
• Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Industries like steel, cement, and chemicals where reducing carbon emissions is technologically challenging due to inherent process emissions or high energy demands.
• Blue Hydrogen: Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels (like natural gas or coal) where the carbon dioxide emissions generated during production are captured and stored using CCUS.
• Coal Gasification: A process that converts solid coal into a clean, useful synthesis gas (syngas) by reacting it with a limited supply of oxygen and steam at high temperatures.
• Geological Storage Site: A secure, deep underground location, such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs or deep saline aquifers, used for the permanent isolation of captured CO2.