New Delhi: Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is emerging as a critical pathway for reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industrial sectors as India advances towards its target of net-zero emissions by 2070. Increasingly viewed not merely as a pollutant but as a potential resource, carbon dioxide captured through CCUS can support industrial competitiveness, resource efficiency and the country’s low-carbon transition.
While renewable energy can substantially cut emissions, certain industrial processes that require extremely high temperatures or carbon-based inputs cannot be easily electrified. CCUS addresses this gap by capturing carbon dioxide from industrial sources before it is released into the atmosphere. The captured gas can then be utilised in productive applications or permanently stored underground, complementing renewable energy expansion and enabling a shift towards a lower-carbon industrial economy.
NITI Aayog has identified CCUS as highly important for the decarbonisation of sectors such as steel, cement, oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers. These industries contribute significantly to industrial emissions and face technical challenges in achieving deep decarbonisation. By linking capture with utilisation and safe storage, CCUS can reduce emissions from existing plants while maintaining the production of essential goods and creating opportunities for new technologies, infrastructure and industrial capabilities in India.
The CCUS Process: From Capture to Storage
The process begins at the industrial plant where carbon dioxide is generated. Capture systems separate the gas from flue streams produced during fuel combustion or industrial processes. The captured carbon dioxide is then purified, dried and compressed into a dense form suitable for transport or use.
Transport typically relies on pipelines for suitable distances, while ships and other modes can provide flexibility for longer hauls, depending on volume, infrastructure and destination. The gas is then directed either to a utilisation facility or a geological storage site.
In the final stage, the carbon dioxide is either used productively or injected deep underground for permanent storage. Potential applications include enhanced oil recovery (EOR), food and beverages, urea, green methanol and concrete. Suitable geological formations for permanent storage include depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline aquifers and basaltic rock formations.
Hub-and-Cluster Model for Scale
India’s emerging CCUS framework envisions regional hubs and clusters that connect multiple carbon dioxide emitters through shared infrastructure for transport, utilisation and storage. This approach can generate economies of scale, reduce infrastructure risks and match supply with potential demand. The Department of Science and Technology’s CCUS Roadmap 2025 identifies promising industrial and geological zones, including the Gujarat coast (refineries and chemical industries), the Odisha–Jharkhand belt (steel and cement), and the Northeast (oil and gas resources).
Enabling a Low-Carbon Transition
CCUS supports the management of emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, where process emissions are difficult to eliminate through electrification alone. Emissions from these sectors and thermal power generation are projected to reach around 2,300 million tonnes per year by 2030, underscoring the importance of capture and mitigation solutions.
The technology can also enable a low-carbon hydrogen economy through blue hydrogen production via coal gasification combined with carbon capture. Coal gasification converts solid coal into synthesis gas (syngas) under controlled high-temperature conditions with limited oxygen and steam, offering pathways distinct from conventional combustion.
As of August 2026, fossil-fuel-based sources still accounted for 45.12 per cent of India’s total installed power capacity. CCUS can help manage emissions from existing thermal power plants and industrial assets during the clean energy transition, including through potential retrofitting of steel and cement plants.
Captured carbon dioxide can serve as feedstock for construction materials, synthetic fuels and chemicals, polymers, enhanced oil recovery with underground storage, and algae-based biofuels, thereby expanding resource efficiency and circular carbon applications.
Building Indigenous Capabilities
Several government initiatives are strengthening India’s CCUS ecosystem. The Union Budget 2026–27 allocated ₹20,000 crore over five years to promote CCUS across five major industrial sectors—power, steel, cement, refineries and chemicals. The Department of Science and Technology’s CCUS R&D Roadmap (December 2025) provides strategic direction for research, funding, technology development and deployment. NITI Aayog’s 2022 policy framework outlines sector-specific interventions for deep decarbonisation.
National CCUS centres established in 2022 at IIT Bombay and JNCASR Bengaluru focus on research, pilot demonstrations and industry collaboration. In May 2025, India launched its first cluster of five carbon capture and utilisation testbeds for the cement industry under a public-private partnership model. In May 2026, IIT Bombay inaugurated the country’s first integrated CCUS field laboratory, capable of capturing up to three tonnes of carbon dioxide per day from industrial emissions and ambient air and converting it into useful carbonate and bicarbonate products. Scientific drilling in Deccan Trap basalt formations will further assess permanent storage potential.
The Department of Science and Technology has also supported multilateral projects under platforms such as Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT) and Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), and, through Mission Innovation, has backed 25 CCUS research and development projects as of March 2025.
Growing Project Pipeline
As of April 2026, India’s CCU portfolio includes three operational projects (in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra), six under construction or implementation (led by Andhra Pradesh with three, followed by Telangana with two and Maharashtra with one), and 16 proposed projects (with Assam and Odisha leading at four each). This expanding pipeline, involving public sector enterprises, private industry and academic institutions across multiple states, reflects rising momentum in carbon management solutions and provides a foundation for scaling indigenous carbon capture and utilisation applications.
By addressing emissions from sectors where complete elimination remains challenging, CCUS adds an important technological dimension to India’s Panchamrit commitments and the journey towards net-zero by 2070. Continued progress in research, technology development, financing and demonstration is expected to strengthen its contribution to resource efficiency, industrial decarbonisation and a more circular carbon economy.
