India’s first integrated CCUS field laboratory opens at IIT Bombay
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UPSC has already asked about this. Read the story with these questions in mind.
- Prelims 2026Which of the following statements with regard to India’s indigenous new high resolution weather model, the ‘Bharat Forecast System,’ is/are correct ?Solve with answer →
- Mains 2025 · GS3What is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) ? What is the potential role of CCUS in tackling climate change ?See model answer →
India’s first integrated CCUS field laboratory opened at IIT Bombay on 11 May 2026. It links a home-grown carbon capture and utilisation pilot of up to 3 tonnes a day with scientific drilling to store CO2 in Deccan Trap basalts. Captured CO2 is turned into carbonate and bicarbonate salts for steel, cement and other industries.
- Opened
- 11 May 2026, IIT Bombay; under Bharat Innovates 2026
- Capture pilot
- indigenous CCU facility, up to 3 tonnes per day
- Capture tech
- aqueous catalytic process; works on air and flue gas; uses non-potable water
- Storage
- Geological CO2 Sequestration drilling in Deccan Trap basalts
- Products
- high-purity carbonate and bicarbonate salts
- Scale-up
- UrjanovaC, start-up incubated at SINE, IIT Bombay
India’s first integrated CCUS field laboratory: what happened?
CCUS means catch CO2, use some, and lock the rest underground. India has huge basalt rock in the Deccan. This lab tests whether that rock can store CO2 for good.
- In basalt, dissolved CO2 can turn into stable minerals such as calcite and magnesite, so it does not leak back.
- Researchers will compare supercritical and aqueous-phase CO2 injection.
- Linked to Panchamrit commitments and the 2070 net zero target.
What is CCUS?
- Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage: capturing CO2 from air or chimneys, turning part of it into useful products, and storing the rest permanently in rock.
Why does India’s first integrated CCUS field laboratory matter?
- Climate: Tool for hard-to-cut sectors like cement and steel.
- Science: First Indian field data on basalt CO2 storage.
What can Prelims ask on India’s first integrated CCUS field laboratory?
- First integrated CCUS field lab: IIT Bombay; capture pilot up to 3 tonnes a day.
- CO2 storage tested in Deccan Trap basalts; mineral trapping as calcite and magnesite.
How to use this in Mains
- As per PIB (2026-05-11): the Education Minister inaugurated India's first Integrated Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Field Laboratory at IIT Bombay under Bharat Innovates 2026.
- Industry needs research to decarbonise, and this builds that base.
Quotable data pointThe Education Minister inaugurated India's first Integrated Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Field Laboratory at IIT Bombay under Bharat Innovates 2026.
PIB: Education: CCUS field lab, 11 May 2026
Exam angle
Prelims: CCUS.
Practice MCQs
Original practice questions (not PYQs).
In basalt rock, injected CO2 can be stored permanently mainly by
Answer (b) & explanation
PIB (Education), 11 May 2026.
Questions students ask about this
Where is India's first integrated CCUS field lab?
At IIT Bombay.
Which rock formation is being tested for CO2 storage?
Basalt formations of the Deccan Traps.
What does captured CO2 become?
High-purity carbonate and bicarbonate salts for industry.
Keep studying
Go deeper
Official source: PIB: Education: CCUS field lab, 11 May 2026
facts from cited sources only; faculty review pending