The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has released an extensive study titled ‘Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India’. The report emphasizes the critical role of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) in reducing emissions and achieving deep decarbonization from hard-to-abate sectors.
Key Highlights of the NITI Aayog Report
The report elaborates that CCUS offers a plethora of opportunities to transform captured CO2 into value-added products such as green urea, food and beverage form application, building materials, chemicals, polymers, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). This exciting possibility holds substantial market potential for India and significantly contributes to a circular economy.
Additionally, CCUS projects are expected to generate considerable employment. The report predicts approximately 750 million tonnes per annum of carbon capture by 2050 can create job opportunities for 8-10 million people on a full-time equivalent basis, implemented in phases.
The report suggests the need for broad-level policy interventions across various sectors to promote widespread CCUS application. Considering India’s revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets and steps towards achieving Net Zero by 2070, CCUS emerges as a significant reduction strategy for decarbonization from the hard-to-abate sectors. Given India’s likely continued dependency on fossil-based energy resources, a tailored CCUS policy becomes crucial.
Understanding Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)
CCUS refers to the methods and technologies used to extract CO2 from flue gas and the atmosphere, subsequently recycling the CO2 for use and identifying safe, permanent storage options. Using CCUS technologies, captured CO2 is transformed into fuel, refrigerants, and construction materials. CCUS is deemed a crucial tool to assist countries in halving their emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero by 2050, integral to meeting the Paris Agreement targets of restricting global warming.
Applications of CCUS
CCUS can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. Even with the adoption of alternative energy sources and energy-efficient systems, the accumulated CO2 amount in the atmosphere must be reduced to alleviate the adverse impacts of climate change.
In agriculture, the capture of CO2 from biogenic sources such as plants and soil can augment crop growth within a greenhouse setting. On the industrial front, merging CO2 with steel slag, an output of the steel manufacturing process, can create construction materials that align with Paris Agreement goals. A noteworthy application already observed in India is enhanced oil recovery (EOR), where captured CO2 is injected into oil wells to extract more oil.
Challenges Associated with CCUS
Implementing CCUS is not without its difficulties. The development of sorbents that can effectively bind to CO2 present in flue gas or the atmosphere is expensive. Additionally, while converting CO2 can add economic value, the demand for CO2 is insufficient compared to the colossal quantity that needs to be extracted from the atmosphere to mitigate the environmental impacts of climate change.
The Way Forward
Any feasible carbon storage system must be effective, cost-competitive, stable for long-term storage, and environmentally friendly. Countries should focus on promising technologies and direct investment towards them. Replacing conventional fuel with synthetic fuel like methanol using CCU can be a successful mitigation strategy if clean energy is harnessed to capture CO2 and convert it into synthetic fuel.