- Nodal Ministries / Agencies- Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance, and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)
Macro Context & Role in India’s Net-Zero by 2070 Journey
- Targeting Hard-to-Abate Sectors- While renewable energy lowers power sector emissions, heavy industries (steel, cement, chemicals, fertilizers, and refineries) involve high-temperature chemical reactions that cannot be easily electrified; CCUS provides a vital secondary decarbonization pathway.
- Projected Industrial Emissions- Emissions from hard-to-abate sectors and thermal power generation are projected to reach nearly 2,300 million tonnes per annum by 2030, making carbon capture critical.
- Panchamrit Alignment- Supports India's long-term climate goals under its Panchamrit commitments and the overarching vision of achieving Net Zero by 2070 while maintaining industrial growth.
- Resource Efficiency Paradigm- Shifts the policy perspective of carbon dioxide (Co2) from a waste pollutant into a valuable chemical feedstock for industrial reuse.
- Balancing Fossil Infrastructure- As of August 2026, fossil-fuel sources accounted for 45.12% of India's installed power capacity; retrofitting thermal plants with CCUS enables these existing assets to operate cleanly during the energy transition.
The CCUS Operational Workflow & Hub-and-Cluster Model
- Step 1 Capture- Separating and purifying (Co2) from industrial flue gases during combustion or chemical synthesis, followed by high-pressure compression into a dense supercritical form.
- Step 2 Transport- Moving compressed (Co2) efficiently across distances via dedicated pipelines or specialized shipping vessels to utilization or storage sites.
- Step 3 Permanent Geo-Storage- Injecting (Co2) deep underground into secure geological formations, including depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline aquifers, and basaltic rock formations.
- The Hub-and-Cluster Model- Endorsed by NITI Aayog and the DST Roadmap 2025, this model links multiple (Co2) emitters to shared transport and storage infrastructure, achieving economies of scale and reducing financial risk.
- Key Potential Industrial Clusters-
a. Gujarat Coast- High concentration of refineries and chemical complexes.
b. Odisha-Jharkhand Belt- Heavy integration of steel and cement manufacturers.
c. North-East India- Leveraging existing oil and gas basin geology.
Technological Innovations- Coal Gasification, Blue Hydrogen & Testbeds
- Enabling Low-Carbon Blue Hydrogen- Utilizes surface and underground coal gasification (reacting coal with oxygen/steam at 800 degree C to 1600 degree C) coupled with carbon capture to produce cost-competitive blue hydrogen.
- DST Coal Gasification Testbeds- Industry-research consortia established between IIT Delhi & Thermax Ltd and CSIR-IICT Hyderabad & BHEL to deploy pilot-scale testbeds for converting captured carbon into methanol and dimethyl ether (DME).
- India's First Integrated CCUS Field Laboratory (IIT Bombay)- Inaugurated in May 2026, this indigenous facility captures up to 3 tonnes of Co2 per day from industrial flue gas and ambient air using non-potable water, converting it into carbonates/bicarbonates.
- Deccan Traps Basalt Storage Studies- The IIT Bombay field lab conducts scientific drilling into Deccan Trap basalt formations to evaluate India's capacity for permanent mineralized Co2 storage.
- Cement Industry Testbed Cluster- Launched in May 2025, bringing leading cement firms and research institutions together under a PPP model to test Co2 capture, mineralisation, and conversion into green concrete.
- Mission Innovation Engagement- India participates actively in multinational clean energy platforms (Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) and Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT)), supporting 25 R&D projects as of 2025.
National Policy Ecosystem & Project Pipeline Status
- Union Budget 2026–27 Allocation- A dedicated ₹20,000 crore scheme over five years to catalyze CCUS across five core pillars- Power, Steel, Cement, Refineries, and Chemicals.
- DST CCUS R&D Roadmap - Establishes strategic direction for national research funding, commercial readiness benchmarks, and regulatory frameworks.
- NITI Aayog Policy Framework - Outlines comprehensive sector-specific policy interventions required to foster deep industrial decarbonization via CCUS.
- National CCUS Centres- Established in 2022 at IIT Bombay and JNCASR, Bengaluru, supported by the DST to drive pilot demonstrations and industry partnerships.
- National Project Pipeline-
a. Operational- 3 projects (located in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra).
b. Under Construction/Execution- 6 projects (led by Andhra Pradesh with 3, Telangana with 2, and Maharashtra with 1).
c. Proposed- 16 projects (led by Assam and Odisha with 4 each, Gujarat and Rajasthan with 2 each, alongside Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu).
Strategic Significance
- Addressing Hard-to-Abate Emissions- Fills the critical technological gap where renewable energy and electrification are insufficient due to high thermal process requirements.
- Fostering a Circular Carbon Economy- Transforms industrial waste gas into valuable products (construction aggregates, polymers, synthetic fuels, and agricultural urea), improving resource productivity.
- Safeguarding Existing Capital Assets- Protects billions of dollars of national investment in thermal power plants and heavy manufacturing by retrofitting them for low-carbon operations.
- Strengthening Indigenous Deep-Tech Capabilities- Institutional testbeds (IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, CSIR-IICT) reduce dependency on imported carbon management technologies, building domestic intellectual property.
- Structural Challenges to Address- High capital and operating expenditures (CapEx/OpEx) for capture units, lack of a commercial pipeline network for Co2 transport, long-term liability frameworks for deep geological storage, and public acceptance of underground storage sites.
Source: PIB