Mains Practice Questions

Introduction: 

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) refers to a suite of technologies that trap carbon dioxide from large emission sources or directly from the air, followed by its long-term underground storage (CCS) or conversion into value-added products (CCU). 

• As the world transitions towards net zero, and with India’s own target set for 2070, CCUS is seen as a vital pillar of a diversified decarbonisation strategy, especially for sectors where emissions are hard to eliminate.

Body: 

CCUS as a "Bridge Technology"

Potential of CCUS: 

• Decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors: Industries such as cement, steel, refining, chemicals, fertilisers and certain process industries emit concentrated CO₂ streams that are difficult to eliminate through electrification alone. 
  • India is the world's second-largest producer of steel and cement. CCUS allows deep cuts in these sectors while alternative processes scale up.
• Power-sector flexibility and transitions: Coal dominates India's energy mix, and energy security is paramount.
  • Where unabated fossil generation persists for grid stability or as transitional capacity, CCUS on thermal plants can reduce emissions and buy time while renewables, storage and grid upgrades scale.
• Enabling low-carbon fuels and chemicals: Captured CO₂ can be used (with low-carbon hydrogen) to produce synthetic fuels, methanol, urea or polymers, helping decarbonise transport and chemicals where direct electrification is hard.
• Negative emissions pathways: When paired with bioenergy (BECCS) or Direct Air Capture (DAC) powered by renewables, CCUS can deliver net negative emissions, useful for offsetting residual emissions and meeting long-term carbon budgets.
• Industrial clusters & job creation: Clustered CCUS hubs (capture sites + shared transport/storage) can create skilled green jobs in India, stimulate manufacturing of capture equipment and support a domestic supply chain.

Key Challenges & Constraints for India: 

• High cost & energy penalty: Capture technologies are capital-intensive and raise operating costs, they also impose an energy penalty (lower net plant efficiency). Without strong carbon pricing or subsidies, economics are weak.
• Infrastructure needs: CCUS requires networks for CO₂ transport (pipelines) and secure storage sites. Building a safe, integrated transport and storage network involves high upfront costs and long lead times.
• Geological storage assessment & liability: India needs comprehensive, publicly available geological appraisals to identify suitable reservoirs, and clear laws on long-term liability, ownership and monitoring of stored CO₂.
• Opportunity cost & technology choice: Investment in CCUS could divert scarce public and private capital away from cheaper options like renewables, grid storage and energy efficiency if not carefully prioritised.
• Limited domestic industry & R&D: Indigenous capability for large-scale capture systems, compressors, and CO₂-tolerant materials is nascent, requiring R&D and manufacturing scale-up.

Towards Effective Utilization of CCUS Technology: 

• Create a clear national CCUS strategy: Map point sources, potential storage sites, and identify priority industrial clusters for early hubs. Publish a roadmap with timelines and responsibilities.
• Introduce credible carbon pricing / fiscal incentives: Combine carbon pricing, tax credits, capital subsidies, viability gap funding and production incentives for low-carbon products to correct market failures.
• Develop CCUS hubs & shared infrastructure: Promote public-private regional hubs where several industries share capture, transport and storage to reduce cost and risk.
• Regulatory & legal framework: Enact laws for site permitting, CO₂ property rights, long-term liability and monitoring & verification standards. Define liability transfer timelines and a stewardship regime.
• Investment in R&D and domestic manufacturing: Support research into lower-cost capture solvents, solid sorbents, membrane technologies, DAC, and scale-up of compressors and pipeline fabrication.
• Integration with hydrogen & industrial decarbonisation: Align CCUS policy with green/blue hydrogen strategies and industrial decarbonisation plans to create synergies (e.g., blue hydrogen with CCS as transitional option).

Conclusion: 

CCUS is not a silver bullet but a practical bridge, particularly for India’s hard-to-abate industries and for delivering negative emissions where required. Its potential is significant but conditional: success depends on lowering costs through scale, creating enabling policy and fiscal frameworks, building infrastructure and domestic capability, and ensuring transparent regulation and community consent.