CCUS seen as critical bridge to net zero, but economics and financing are key to scale up

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies are key to global carbon neutrality efforts, but their success depends on economics, access to finance, and project bankability, panellists agreed at India Energy Week.

Noting the speed of progress in India, Om Prakash Sinha, Director (Exploration) at ONGC, said, “I recall that two years ago in India, I was part of a panel on CCUS. The topic then was how to initiate, design, and conceive pilot projects. Two years since then, we are here talking about pilots at a planetary scale.”

India is the third-largest CO₂ emitter, producing 2.65 gigatonnes annually, Sinha added, noting that achieving scale is critical to the country’s decarbonisation. “I see CCUS as a bridge between the carbon-intensive reality that we have in India and what we foresee in the net-zero future. CCUS is a bridge between what we are emitting today and what we aim to achieve by 2070. It’s a bridge between energy supply, fulfilment, and sustainable development.”

Deepak Gupta, Director (Projects) at GAIL, said, “Without CCUS, our decarbonisation journey will not be complete. That’s the most important reason for having scale. CCUS will have to be taken care of and will have to be implemented, come what may.”

He noted that carbon capture in India remains minimal and must be scaled as industrial growth drives emissions. “Emissions will rise from sectors such as steel, cement, oil and gas, and other hard-to-abate sectors. GAIL’s CO₂ emissions are also going to rise from about 3 million tonnes per annum to 12–13 million tonnes as some upcoming projects get operational,” he said.

Atanu Mukherjee, CEO of Dastur Energy, stressed economics and finance. “Economics is fundamental. You can have the best technology, but if the economics don’t work, it is difficult to implement and carry it through. Optimising economics across the chain is important. Unless there is a risk absorber at scale to finance the infrastructure at a reasonable cost of capital, it is very difficult for it to perform.”

Cost remains a crucial factor, said Alex Grant, Senior Vice President and UK Country Manager at Equinor.