In a move to align its growing energy demands with climate commitments, the Indian government is preparing to launch a Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) mission, offering incentives ranging from 50% to 100%. The initiative aims to support the adoption of carbon capture technologies while continuing to rely on coal for a significant portion of the country’s energy needs.
CCUS involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial operations and power plants before they are released into the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO₂ is either repurposed into products such as fuels and chemicals or stored permanently underground in geological formations like depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers.
As per the news report by PTI, announcing the upcoming mission at the 17th India Coal Summit hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Rajnath Ram, Advisor (Energy) at NITI Aayog, stated, “We are going to launch the CCUS mission very soon, where incentives like 100 per cent government funding will be provided to some of the technology. The incentives may range from 50 per cent to 100 per cent.”
He emphasized that these financial incentives are intended to help industries incorporate carbon capture solutions, particularly in coal-based power generation systems.
As India’s economy continues to grow, energy demand is projected to rise significantly. Ram pointed out that meeting this surge will require a corresponding increase in energy supply.
Previously, NITI Aayog has underlined the importance of CCUS in decarbonising India’s power sector, especially considering that coal still accounts for over 70% of electricity generation. Even with a target of achieving 500 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2030, fossil fuels, primarily coal, will continue to be necessary for meeting baseload power demand, due to the variability of renewable sources.
India’s per capita CO₂ emissions currently stand at around 1.9 tonnes per year, which is less than 40% of the global average and roughly one-fourth of China’s emissions.
