India Launches First Carbon Capture And Utilisation (CCU) Testbed

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) unveiled a first-of-its-kind cluster of five Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) testbeds on National Technology Day (11 May 2025).

These are focused on the Cement Industry, one of India’s hard-to-abate sectors, and mark a major step toward net zero emissions by 2070, in line with India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Key Features of the CCU Cement Cluster

Administered by: DST’s Centre for Energy and Sustainable Technology (CEST).
PPP Model: DST funds + Industry deployment + Academic R&D = Innovation-to-implementation framework.
Goals:
- Develop integrated CO₂ capture + utilization units.
- Lower cost of Green Cement through local technologies.
- Enable commercialisation and scale-up for national impact.
Innovative Process:
- Oxygen-enhanced calcination: Converts CO₂ to lightweight concrete blocks and olefins.
- Carbon-negative mineralization: CO₂ is locked into solid minerals (turning emissions into rock).
- Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA): Separate CO₂ from kiln gases and reintegration into construction materials.

Significance of the Initiative

Supports NDC and Net Zero Goals: Facilitates India’s 2070 climate commitments by decarbonising the cement sector, responsible for ~8% of global CO₂ emissions.
Boosts Domestic Technology: Fosters indigenous CCU solutions for global replication.
Improves Industry Sustainability: Enables the cement industry to operate with reduced emissions, maintaining growth with environmental accountability.
- Intended to demonstrate and scale CCU technologies, providing cost-effective, replicable models for other sectors like Steel, Oil & Gas, Power, Chemicals.

Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) vs Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Aspect	Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)	Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Definition	Capturing CO₂ and converting it into useful products.	Capturing CO₂ and permanently storing it in geological formations.
End Goal	Reuse captured CO₂ in industrial processes or products.	Sequester CO₂ to prevent its release into the atmosphere.
Output	Products like synthetic fuels, urea, soda ash, building materials, etc.	No usable output; CO₂ is injected into deep geological reservoirs.
CO₂ Lifecycle	CO₂ is recycled or repurposed, often with potential economic value.	CO₂ is locked away permanently, ideally not to be disturbed.
Commercial Viability	Offers economic incentives via product generation; considered revenue-generating.	Often cost-intensive; needs subsidies or carbon pricing to be viable.
Use Cases	Cement, steel, chemicals, plastics, fuels, beverages, enhanced oil recovery (EOR).	Power plants, natural gas processing, oil fields, heavy industries.
Environmental Impact	Reduces CO₂ emissions with partial or full offset, depending on utilization.	Offers permanent mitigation of emissions but no resource recovery.
Geological Requirement	No geological storage needed.	Requires specific geological conditions (e.g., saline aquifers, depleted oil fields).
Challenges	Limited scalability, CO₂ reuse markets still developing, energy-intensive processes.	Risk of leakage, long-term monitoring, public resistance, high upfront costs.

Carbon Capture and Utilisation

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