The Department of Science and Technology (DST) pioneering national initiative: five Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) testbeds in the cement sector, is a first-of-its-kind research and innovation cluster to combat industrial carbon emissions.
This is a significant step towards India’s Climate Action for fostering National Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets and to achieve net zero decarbonisation pathways for Industry Transition., towards the Government’s goal to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2070.
Concrete is vital for India’s economy and the Cement industry being one of the main hard-to-abate sectors, is committed to align with the national decarbonisation commitments. New technologies to decarbonise emission intensity of the cement sector would play a key role in achieving of national net zero targets.
As a unique initiative, DST is setting up of five CCU testbeds for translational R&D, to be set up in Academia-Industry collaboration under this significant initiative of DST in PPP mode, engaging with premier research laboratories as knowledge partners and top Cement companies as the industry partner.
The five testbeds are not just academic experiments — they are collaborative industrial pilot projects bringing together India’s top research institutions and leading cement manufacturers under a unique Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Each testbed addresses a different facet of CCU, from cutting-edge catalysis to vacuum-based gas separation.
The outcomes of this innovative initiative will not only showcase the pathways of decarbonisation towards Net zero goals through CCU route in cement sector, but should also be a critical confidence building measure for potential stakeholders to uptake the deployed CCU technology for further scale up and commercialisation.
It is envisioned that through continuous research and innovation under these test beds in developing innovative catalysts, materials, electrolyser technology, reactors, and electronics, the cost of Green Cement via the deployed CCU technology in Cement Sector may considerably be made more sustainable.
The five testbeds reflect India’s commitment to scalable, real-world solutions:
Testbed-1 (Ballabhgarh, Haryana): A pilot plant in partnership with JK Cement at the National Council for Cement and Building Materials captures CO? via oxygen-enhanced calcination to produce lightweight concrete blocks and olefins.
Testbed-2 (IIT Kanpur + JSW Cement): Demonstrates carbon-negative mineralization, locking CO? into solid minerals—a breakthrough in turning pollution into rock.
Testbed-3 (IIT Bombay + Dalmia Cement): Develops catalyst-driven CO? capture, installed at an operational cement plant to test indigenous clean-tech scalability
Testbed-4 (CSIR-IIP, IIT Tirupati, IISe + JSW Cement): Uses vacuumbased gas separation to recycle CO? from kiln gases into construction materials, closing the emissions loop.
Testbed-5 (IIT Madras & BITS Pilani, Goa + Ultratech Cement): Focuses on carbon-lowering innovations, merging academic research with industrial impact.
