IIT Bombay establishes country’s first National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has established a National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization (NCoE-CCU) with support from the department of science and technology under the ministry of science and technology.

According to a statement from IIT Bombay, the NCoE is India’s first carbon capture and utilisation centre funded by the Indian government.

“Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is a crucial climate change mitigation solution that is constantly advancing in its technology readiness levels for operational feasibility and economic viability,” it said.

The NCoE aims to develop into a multi-disciplinary body that will conduct long-term research and collaborate with multiple agencies. It also aims to become a capacity-building hub in the field of carbon capture and utilization.

Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of IIT Bombay says that decarbonising certain industries will take a lot of effort. “IIT Bombay has undertaken leadership to address several science and engineering grand challenges and develop their end-to-end solutions.

The National Centre shall explore and unlock the potential of CCU technologies to lead India in this potential sunshine industrial sector to evolve as a circular carbon economy. 

Last year, the IIT Bombay team brought laurels to the country by winning the prestigious X-PRIZE Award, supported by the Elon Musk Foundation for demonstration of carbon dioxide removal announced at the Sustainable Innovation Forum at COP-26,” he said.