India Decarbonization and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Market

The Indian government is ramping up its large-scale decarbonization and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) efforts, particularly through identifying and implementing cutting edge CCUS technologies to address the challenges posed by high CO2 emissions.

India’s planning commission, NITI Aayog, has proposed a CCUS policy involving industry clusters, employment generation, and financial incentives to help its adoption on a commercial scale, with the potential for India to reach a CCUS capacity of 750 million metric tons per year by 2050. The proposal aims to produce a comprehensive CCUS policy by the end of 2024. This policy will address various aspects of implementation, such as capture standards, transportation, storage, and utilization of CO2. The policy aims to support India’s goals of reducing emissions by 50% by 2050 and achieving net-zero by 2070. India’s Ministry of Science and Technology is a member of the Asia CCUS Network, which is committed to successfully developing and deploying CCUS efforts throughout Asia. To achieve these goals, an investment of approximately $100-$150 billion will be required through 2050.

The CCUS action plans target key industry sectors, such as steel, cement, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and fertilizers, which are essential for India’s economy and produce high emission levels. The collaboration among industry stakeholders, research institutions, and policymakers is vital for India to successfully reach its goals.

Opportunities for U.S. Companies

The Indian government is formulating a business model and financial incentives to promote commercial-scale CCUS adoption. The government recognizes opportunities to convert CO2 to different value-added products, like building materials (concrete and aggregates), chemicals (methanol and ethanol), polymers, and enhanced oil recovery. U.S. suppliers, working with other companies from member countries of the Asia CCUS Network, may take advantage of the growing demand in several key technologies and services compiled by the U.S. Commercial Service in India.

Challenges

The implementation of CCUS policy faces several challenges, including the high costs of capturing and compressing CO2, the need for CO2 transportation infrastructure, tech advances for large-scale deployment, and environmental and social acceptance of storage sites.

The experienced U.S. Commercial Service team in India can help your market entry or expansion in the Indian subcontinent. For further information regarding opportunities in this sector, please reach out to your local U.S. office or contact the U.S. Commercial Service in India.