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Dastur Energy, an industry leader and expert in the industrial decarbonization value chain was invited earlier this month to participate in the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science Technology and Innovation. This prestigious invitation is a result of the recognition of Dastur Energy’s sustained work in this space since 2020, that has been leveraged globally, and in India.

Dastur Energy’s collaboration with the Indian Government in the area of CCUS started when, based on its deep global experience in this space, Dastur Energy reached out to NITI Aayog, with a recommendation to formulate a policy, technology & financing framework & roadmap on CCUS for India – sharing insights that pointed to the potential of industrial scale CCUS as a viable pathway towards the overarching net zero goal.

Recognizing the strategic importance of this, in 2021, NITI Aayog commissioned an official study led by Dastur Energy, that resulted in a detailed report - “CCUS Policy framework & its Deployment Mechanism in India” (https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-12/CCUS-Report.pdf).

This work has received wide recognition globally across policymakers & business communities and continues to be cited in key discussion and decision-making forums.  Subsequently, NTPC Ltd, and the Ministry of Power, commissioned Dastur Energy to develop a report on - “CCUS Technology gap across G20 countries”, for the 2023 G20 Summit.. This  was launched during the  the G20 summit. (https://powermin.gov.in/sites/default/files/uploads/CCUS_Technology_Gaps_and_International_Collaboration_G20_Circulation.pdf)

Given the G20’s direct role and influence in shaping global direction and investment in climate change mitigation and sustainable development, Dastur Energy’s role in creating this report and delivering thought leadership and direction on the G20 global platform is very significant. The work done by Dastur Energy has helped put the spotlight on CCUS as a critical area for industrial decarbonization and energy transition.

A key outcome of this is that recently, NITI Aayog & PSA Office made the decision to include CCUS as an important focus of the PM _STIAC (Prime Minister’s - Science, Technology, Innovation Advisory Council) with the objective of defining a clear action plan in this space to drive the nation’s efforts towards reaching net-zero by 2070. Dastur Energy was invited to be a part of this forum as a thought leader and expert in the CCUS space, to provide directional insights and recommendations.

Elaborating on the vision put forth during his presentation titled ‘Synthesizing a complete CCUS value chain in Indian context’, Mr. Atanu Mukherjee, CEO of Dastur Energy commented, “Armed with a global experience of creating elemental CCUS value chains, we at Dastur Energy presented our perspective on how India could embed CCUS technologies across hard-to-abate sectors and industries to ramp up the total CO2 being captured, sequestered and converted into useful products. While our findings and suggestions depend on an expansive, collaborative and robust policy being formed for effective CCUS deployment in India, we are confident that the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, the Ministry of Power and NITI Aayog are advancing rapidly towards this end.”

Given PM _STIAC ‘s vital role in assessing and determining the status of science / technology domains and formulating interventions and strategies that get leveraged by the Prime Minister’s Office, this is a prestigious achievement for Dastur Energy.

The meeting highlighted the importance of CCUS and is expected to drive additional focus on investment in this strategic area. It was co-chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Prime Minister and NITI Aayog, and attended by Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and other members of the Secretariat; with participation from distinguished officials of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), IIT Bombay, NTPC and Dastur Energy.

It was acknowledged that the decision to launch a new mission for CCUS adoption, led by the Ministry of Power, with guidance from the PSA office and NITI Aayog, signaled a big directional achievement for India in its fight against climate change. There was recognition for the tireless collective efforts of Niti Aayog, Dastur Energy, NTPC, BEE and IIT Bombay.

In his concluding address, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, underscored the need to build upon the consensus made and launch a holistic CCUS policy through a mission-mode approach.

While several countries have enacted CCUS programs and policies in the past, India’s efforts towards establishing a national CCUS policy will be watched closely, with many countries looking towards the fastest-growing economy for clues on how to balance both economic growth and climate concerns.

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