India’s construction market, valued at roughly 650 billion dollars, is preparing for a shift that could redefine how buildings are imagined, financed and built. A new generation of pollution-eating bricks is drawing interest from investors and policymakers because it promises something no traditional material has offered: walls that behave like carbon sinks.
For decades, construction has been a major contributor to India’s environmental burden. Cement production alone accounts for nearly 7 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Add to that more than 100,000 coal-fired brick kilns burning around 35 million tonnes of coal each year, and the sector becomes one of the most stubborn sources of pollution. As India races toward urbanisation, adding the equivalent of a new Chicago every year in built-up area, the need for cleaner materials is becoming impossible to ignore.
This is why the idea of bricks that absorb CO? has captured attention. These bricks, produced using a proprietary low-carbon binder, claim to avoid the high-heat, high-emission processes of traditional lime or cement. The binder is produced at room temperature, cutting energy use from the start. During their lifecycle, the bricks continue to absorb carbon dioxide from the air, slowly turning a wall into a passive climate tool. At the end of their use, they can be recycled back into new bricks, and in some cases, their mineral content can even support soil conditioning.
The attractiveness lies not just in their green appeal but in their timing. India’s cities are expanding at historic speed. By 2030, nearly 600 million Indians will live in urban areas. The government’s infrastructure push is equally large, with around ?11 lakh crore budgeted for FY26. Housing programmes and industrial corridors continue to fuel demand for low-cost construction materials, yet the environmental cost of meeting this demand is rising.
The appeal of pollution-eating bricks sits at the intersection of climate technology, materials science and investment opportunity. India’s brick market, valued at Rs. 8,000 crore annually, is ripe for disruption. If even a tenth of brick production shifts to cleaner alternatives, it opens an Rs. 800-crore annual addressable market. Green cement, another segment of the same movement, is expected to grow at a 14 percent annual rate and reach Rs. 15,000 crore by 2032.
But there are important questions investors cannot ignore. Do these materials deliver on the scale they promise? Can they withstand India’s varied climate, soaring summer temperatures, heavy monsoons, coastal humidity? And can they do all this without adding significant cost to projects?
Traditional red bricks in India sell for about Rs. 5 - 6 per piece, which leaves very little margin for innovation. Any technology that costs much more will struggle to find acceptance unless policymakers introduce incentives or institutional buyers adopt them at scale. India’s construction industry is famously cost-sensitive; even marginal increases in material prices can break procurement plans.
Then there is the supply chain challenge. Some of these bricks use excavated soil from construction sites, turning waste into raw material. But soil quality varies sharply across regions. Uniformity is essential for compressive strength, durability and regulatory approvals. Logistics also matter: transporting soil or finished bricks over long distances erodes both the environmental gains and financial viability.
Certification remains another hurdle. Indian building codes take time to catch up with new material technologies, and approvals from the Bureau of Indian Standards can stretch over years. Without certification, institutional buyers and government projects hesitate to adopt new products, no matter how promising.
Carbon accounting is an even trickier issue. If the bricks claim to absorb CO?, how much do they actually bind during their lifetime? Over what timeframe? And how is the sequestration measured? Investors have seen ambitious environmental claims fall apart before. Any meaningful scale will require transparent data and independent verification.
Despite these challenges, the interest around carbon-absorbing bricks is real because the opportunity matches India’s needs. The country has 63 of the world’s 100 most polluted cities. Any material that helps reduce particulate matter or greenhouse gases gets immediate attention from policymakers. The government has already launched frameworks such as GRIHA, the ECBC code and extended producer responsibility norms in construction. This is a sector where regulatory pressure is only set to increase.
For investors, the potential business models are expanding. Some will consider manufacturing the bricks at scale. Others may choose licensing models, supplying the low-carbon binder to existing brickmakers. Joint ventures with large construction firms could help the technology gain trust through pilot projects. There is also the possibility of monetising carbon sequestration through voluntary carbon markets, creating a secondary revenue stream tied directly to the environmental performance of each brick.
India’s climate-tech ecosystem is growing, with around 2.5 billion dollars raised in 2024 across more than 70 deals. Hard-tech plays like this require heavier capital, but they also sit closer to the nation’s pressing needs. The combination of urban demand, regulatory nudges and global investor appetite offers a rare alignment.
The larger question isn’t whether the technology works in a lab. It is whether India can scale it fast enough to matter. Early pilots with infrastructure majors, state housing boards or smart city missions could open the door. Decentralised micro-factories near major cities would cut transport costs and simplify quality control. And if carbon credits become central to financing, the economics could shift in favour of cleaner materials.
India has already leapfrogged in digital payments and renewable energy. If it can build its next generation of cities with materials that clean the air instead of polluting it, the outcome will extend beyond investor returns. It would reshape how a nation builds, breathes and grows.
