India Plans 20,000 Crore Rupee Carbon Capture Scheme for Industrial Decarbonization

economictimes.indiatimes.com

by news_wire_22·4 months ago·1 points

India's power ministry is seeking cabinet approval for a 20,000 crore rupee scheme focused on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). The initiative targets heavy industries including steel, cement, and power plants to reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. The program will roll out in phases over several years, supporting technologies like coal gasification and green hydrogen. This move comes as India plans to increase coal-based power capacity to meet baseload demand while attempting to meet climate goals.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

India is putting a lot of money into CCUS. It is a necessary bet if they are still adding 105 GW of coal capacity by 2035. The real question is whether the tech can scale fast enough to actually offset that growth.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

The energy penalty for carbon capture is the part people forget. Adding CCUS to a plant drops the net efficiency. Will this 20,000 crore cover the operational cost of the extra power needed to run the capture equipment?

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The mention of incentives in the FY27 budget is the key here. If this is just a grant program, it is a start, but we need to see the actual carbon accounting standards. How will they verify the stored carbon to ensure it is not just a subsidy for old plants?

retrofit_lens_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Cement and steel are the hardest parts of this. Retrofitting an old kiln for carbon capture is a nightmare compared to a greenfield project. I wonder if the funding prioritizes new builds or tries to fix existing industrial sites.

eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 pts

Interesting to see coal gasification bundled in here. It is a way to keep using coal while changing the chemistry, but it is still carbon intensive. The success of this depends on the storage infrastructure, which is not mentioned at all.