Tata Steel Limited and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have joined hands to work toward carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to combat climate change and global warming.

CCUS is the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide from large point sources, such as a factory, transporting it to a storage site, and depositing it where it will not enter the atmosphere like an underground geological formation.

As part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two parties, they will work together to deploy CCUS technologies in the steel industry. The move is expected to cut down on carbon emissions and expedite the transition toward a decarbonized economy.According to the press statement, both parties would collaborate and work together in key areas like CO2 capture, utilization, and storage. Rakesh Kumar, Director of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and Debashish Bhattacharjee, VP of Technology and New Materials at Tata Steel, will lead the collaborative effort.

The council is also planning to set up a national facility on CCUS at NEERI Nagpur that would provide a platform for interested stakeholders to participate in fostering the growth of such measures through a partnership model.

Speaking on the collaborative effort, TV Narendran, MD, Tata Steel, said, “For the sustainability of the steel industry globally and particularly in a growing country like India, it is essential that we find an economical solution for capturing and use or sequestration of CO2 at scale. Between CSIR and Tata Steel, we have enormous intellectual and research strength together with application opportunities. The Tata Steel-CSIR collaboration platform will provide the necessary impetus and also enable other organizations to join and collaboratively work towards a solution for carbon capture, utilization & storage.”

The steel giant has been working on several initiatives to harness renewable energy, and it has also been working on waste heat recovery technology. The company has already established a pilot CCU project at its Jamshedpur facility and its ferrochrome facility.

Recently, the government of India’s Department of Science and Technology invited proposals from Indian researchers in the area of carbon capture, utilization & storage under the Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT) program in collaboration with other ACT member countries. ACT is seeking innovative projects that range from smaller research projects to new or already existing pilots and demonstration sites.

Earlier, the National Institute of Transforming India Aayog and the International Transport Forum of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development  had jointly launched a project aimed at decarbonizing India’s transport sector.