In this image posted on May 11, 2026, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, second left, launches India’s first integrated Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) field laboratory facility at IIT Bombay, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. | Photo Credit: Via PTI

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on Monday launched an integrated pilot facility for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), marking the commencement of geological CO2 sequestration scientific drilling as part of an end-to-end field laboratory project.

The facility, inaugurated by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, is under Bharat Innovates 2026.

This facility integrates an indigenously developed Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) plant with Geological CO2 Sequestration (GCS) in the Deccan basalt formations for deep storage.

The initiative demonstrates a self-reliant, closed-loop carbon mitigation approach using a cost-effective IIT Bombay-patented aqueous CO2 capture technology capable of capturing emissions from ambient air and industrial sources using non-potable water.

Speaking to the media, Pradhan congratulated IIT Bombay for developing a solution to this pressing global issue and announced that the project will be showcased during the presentation at Bharat Innovates 2026, scheduled for next month in France.

The minister said that there have been several successful carbon capture experiments in the past, where carbon was stored through sequestration, but value addition remained a key challenge, which has now been addressed.

Through this process, calcium carbonate, a by-product created from CO2, can be used in industries such as steel, paints, cement and housing as an alternative to lime, the minister added.

Published on May 11, 2026