Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday inaugurated India’s first Integrated Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Field Laboratory Facility at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay under the Bharat Innovates 2026 initiative.

The pilot-scale facility integrates carbon capture technology with carbon utilisation and permanent geological sequestration, marking a major step in India’s efforts to build indigenous climate technologies aligned with its net-zero commitments.

Speaking at the inauguration, Pradhan said the project reflected India’s push to combine innovation with environmental responsibility.

“Today marks an important beginning in India’s journey towards sustainable growth through innovation,” he said. “Institutions like IIT Bombay are creating solutions that balance development with environmental responsibility through cutting-edge carbon capture and utilisation technologies.”

He added that the laboratory represented the broader goals of the National Education Policy 2020 by linking research with practical industrial applications.

“This integrated CCUS field laboratory reflects the spirit of the National Education Policy 2020 by bringing together academia, industry, policy makers and society to address global climate challenges,” Pradhan said.

The project has been developed at IIT Bombay with support from the Government of India, industry collaborators, and the institute’s innovation ecosystem. Officials said the facility is India’s first end-to-end CCUS field laboratory capable of capturing carbon dioxide emissions, converting part of the captured carbon into industrial products, and storing the remaining CO₂ underground in basalt rock formations.

Department of Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi said the initiative demonstrated how institutions could contribute directly to India’s sustainability targets.

“IIT Bombay has demonstrated how academia, industry and policy can come together to address critical sustainability challenges through innovation in carbon capture and utilisation,” Joshi said.

“This initiative reflects the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 and can serve as a roadmap for other institutions across the country as India advances towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047,” he added.

The CCUS facility is led by IIT Bombay professor Vikram Vishal and includes India’s first pilot-scale scientific drilling initiative to study long-term CO₂ storage potential in the Deccan Traps, one of the world’s largest volcanic basalt formations.

According to IIT Bombay, the system uses non-potable water to capture carbon emissions from industrial sources and the atmosphere, converting them into carbonate and bicarbonate salts with potential industrial applications.

The technology is currently being scaled commercially through UrjanovaC, a deep-tech startup incubated at the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay and founded by Prof. Vikram Vishal and Prof. Arnab Dutta.