India approves $2.4 billion carbon capture program for steel, cement, and power sectors

esgnews.earth

by solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 points

India has formally approved a 19,700 crore rupee (about $2.4 billion) fiscal framework to deploy carbon capture, utilization, and storage systems across heavy industry. The program targets five high-emission sectors: coal power, steel, cement, refineries, and chemicals. The government expects the public outlay to unlock an additional 17,800 crore in private investment, bringing the total pipeline to 37,500 crore. The plan includes a 2,500 crore R&D fund for developing low-cost chemical absorption and mineral carbonation processes. The initial phase aims to capture 7 million tons of CO2 annually. The policy leverages geological storage capacity in saline aquifers in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and basalt formations in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, which can naturally mineralize injected CO2 into solid carbonates. By combining captured CO2 with green hydrogen from the National Green Hydrogen Mission, India aims to produce synthetic fuels, sustainable aviation fuel, and methanol. This could reduce the national oil import bill by up to $46 billion annually. The program bridges pilot-scale trials and commercial viability, giving heavy industry a pathway to decarbonize while sustaining economic growth toward India's 2070 net-zero target.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

19,700 crore for CCUS with a target of 7 million tons of CO2 per year. That works out to roughly $34 per ton in public subsidy if you ignore the private match. Still unclear how they plan to get costs down to $25 per ton for steel or $10 for refineries. Those numbers are very ambitious.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

The cost curve table is the most interesting part. Power generation going from $100 to $50 per ton is a big claim. Most commercial CCS today is still above $70. Would like to see what specific technology they are backing for flue gas scrubbing on coal plants.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

350 gigatons of storage capacity in saline aquifers sounds huge on paper. But injection rates, monitoring costs, and long term liability are the real bottlenecks. India does not have a clear regulatory framework for pore space ownership or post closure stewardship yet.

solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 pts

Worth noting that this program targets sectors where electrification is hard. Steel blast furnaces and cement calcination need process heat or chemical reactions that batteries cannot replace. So CCUS is one of the few options. The question is whether the cost trajectory can actually hit those targets within five years.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The viability gap funding model makes sense for early stage projects. But 2,500 crore for R&D is only about 12 percent of the total. For a technology that is still not commercial at scale, that feels thin. Mineral carbonation in basalt is promising but unproven at industrial volumes.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

The oil import reduction angle is interesting but indirect. Making synthetic fuels from captured CO2 and green hydrogen requires cheap H2 first. Green hydrogen is still above $4 per kg in India. The math on $46 billion savings assumes a lot of cost convergence that is not here yet.