Carbon is the elemental backbone of life on Earth and, increasingly, of our biggest climate challenge. The sixth element in the periodic table, carbon, forms the structure of every organic molecule - from DNA to proteins to fossil fuels. However, when we burn fossil fuels, we release carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse gas responsible for driving global warming.
Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is a family of technologies designed to prevent CO2 from reaching the atmosphere. It captures emissions at the source (industrial plants or power stations), then either stores the CO2 permanently underground or reuses ("utilises") it in products like fuels, chemicals or building materials.
India made a major move in this space. During the Union Budget 2026-27 presentation on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 20,000 crore (approximately $2.4 billion) over five years to scale up CCUS. This funding targets "hard-to-abate" sectors - steel, cement, refineries, chemicals and power - where emissions are difficult to eliminate through electrification or renewables alone.
This allocation aligns with India's Net Zero by 2070 pledge (announced at COP26 in 2021) and builds directly on the national CCUS R&D Roadmap released by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in December 2025. That roadmap sets an ambitious goal of capturing 750 million tonnes of CO2 annually from hard-to-abate sectors by 2050, while emphasising indigenous technology development, demonstration projects, international partnerships and private investment.
Why CCUS Matters For India Right Now
India's industrial boom - powering infrastructure, exports and jobs - relies heavily on coal, steel and cement. These sectors produce process emissions (CO2 released chemically, not just from burning fuel) that renewables cannot fully eliminate. Without deep cuts here, India risks losing export competitiveness, especially under mechanisms like the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which taxes high-emission imports.
CCUS offers a pragmatic bridge: decarbonise without deindustrialising. The Rs 20,000 crore aims to move beyond pilots to commercial-scale systems, shared pipelines, storage infrastructure and risk-sharing for early projects.
How CCUS Actually Works
CCUS involves three main steps:
1. Capture - CO2 is separated from other gases at the emission source.
Post-combustion - Most common for existing plants; CO2 is scrubbed from flue gas (3-15% CO2 concentration) using chemical solvents (e.g., amines like MEA). Energy-intensive due to low CO2 concentration.
Pre-combustion - Fuel is gasified first; CO2 is removed from syngas (higher concentration, easier and cheaper).
Oxy-fuel combustion - Fuel burns in pure oxygen, producing a flue gas mostly CO2 and water (high-purity stream, but requires air separation).
Emerging options include adsorption (solid materials), membranes, cryogenics (cooling to liquefy CO2) and even Direct Air Capture (DAC) from ambient air (still expensive, $400-800/tonne).
2. Transport - Compressed CO2 (supercritical state for pipelines) moves via pipeline, ship or truck to storage/utilisation sites.
3. Storage or Utilisation
Storage - Injected into deep geological formations (saline aquifers, depleted oil/gas fields). Proven safe at scale (e.g., Sleipner in Norway since 1996).
Utilisation - Turns CO2 into value: enhanced oil recovery (EOR), green urea/fertilisers, building materials (CO2-cured concrete), chemicals (methanol, ethanol), polymers or fuels. Utilisation often sequesters CO2 permanently (e.g., mineralisation into aggregates).
Global Picture And India's Place
Globally, CCUS is scaling rapidly. As of late 2025/early 2026:
Around 77 commercial facilities operate worldwide, capturing 64 million tonnes of CO2 per year (Mtpa).
Another 44 Mtpa is under construction.
The full pipeline could reach **337 Mtpa operating by 2030 (a 5 times jump from 2025 levels) and over 500 Mtpa** in planning.
North America leads, followed by growth in Asia (China), the Middle East and Australia. Projects increasingly use "hubs" - shared capture, transport and storage infrastructure - to cut costs.
India is late to large-scale deployment but is accelerating. The 2026 budget funding, roadmap and testbeds (e.g., five CCU pilots in cement with academia-industry partners like IITs, JK Cement, JSW, Dalmia and UltraTech) signal serious intent. Execution challenges remain: high costs (especially post-combustion), energy penalties, regulatory frameworks for liability/storage and attracting private capital.
The Bigger Debate
Supporters view CCUS as essential for 1.5-2 degree C pathways - the IEA and IPCC see it as indispensable for hard-to-abate sectors and removing legacy emissions. Critics argue it risks prolonging fossil fuel use, has high costs/energy penalties and slow deployment historically.
According to a 2025 World Resources Institute (WRI) report, two major obstacles to expanding CCUS technology are its sluggish uptake and worries that it could prolong reliance on fossil fuels while sustaining the harmful health and social effects of polluting facilities.
For India, CCUS isn't about replacing renewables - it's about complementing them in sectors where few alternatives exist today. If implemented well, the Rs 20,000 crore could build domestic expertise, create jobs in a new clean-tech value chain and help India grow industrially while honouring its climate commitments. Abinash Mohanty, Global Sector Head for Climate Change and Sustainability at IPE Global, said the commitment signals recognition that CCUS is indispensable for emission reductions in sectors where electrification or fuel switching is not yet viable.
