CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILISATION(CCU) TECHNOLOGIES

NEWS: Recently many countries have developed technologies to capture carbon and utilize it, and it is important to know about the CCU mechanisms

Carbon Capture and Utilisation

• CCU – Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)à set of technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources or directly from the air and convert them into useful products.
• Removes carbon from the atmosphere and puts it into the economy as inputs for fuels, chemicals, building materials, or polymers.

Utilization Pathways:

• Chemicals – Converted into urea, methanol, and polymers.
• Fuels – Combined with green hydrogen to produce synthetic fuels (e-methanol, aviation fuels).
• Materials – Used in carbon-cured concrete and building materials.
• Biological – Utilized by microalgae for biofuel production

India need CCU

• India has consistently been the world’s third-largest emitter of CO₂, with emissions driven largely by power generation, cement, steel, and chemicals.
• Renewable energy may reduce future emissions, many industrial processes are inherently carbon-intensive and difficult to decarbonise.
• The CCU offers a pathway to reduce emissions from these “hard-to-abate” sectors while simultaneously creating new industrial value chains.
• It also aligns with India’s net-zero target for 2070 and its push to build a circular, low-carbon economy.

Risks ahead

• The foremost risk in scaling CCU in Indiaà cost competitiveness.
• Capturing, purifying, and converting CO₂ is energy-intensive and expensive.
• Without policy incentives, CCU-derived products will struggle to compete with cheaper, fossil-based alternatives.
• CCU requires co-located industrial clusters, reliable transport of CO₂, and integration with downstream manufacturing, all of which are unevenly developed across Indian industrial regions.
• The absence of clear standards, certification, and market signals creates uncertainty for investors and limits demand for CO₂-derived products.