A new tranche of seven India–Sweden projects aims to drive deep decarbonisation in India’s cement and steel industries, with a strong focus on cement-sector innovation. The programme, launched under the India–Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP) hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), brings Indian cement firms, major research institutes and Swedish technology developers together to explore low-carbon pathways.
Among the cement-specific projects is a feasibility study co-ordinated by Ambuja Cements Ltd and EcoTech Solutions with IIT Bombay, which seeks to deploy an integrated carbon-capture and utilisation (CCU) unit at a cement plant. The CCU project aims to capture CO2 emissions produced during cement manufacturing and convert them into useful materials — a step that could significantly lower the carbon footprint of cement production.
Another major strand, driven by Tata Steel, JK Cement and the Swedish start-up Cemvision, investigates converting steel-industry slag into supplementary cementitious material, enabling a near-zero-carbon “green cement.” This circular-material approach would divert industrial by-products from landfill and replace part of the clinker used in conventional cement — a major source of CO2 emissions.
The projects — funded by India’s Department of Science & Technology and the Swedish Energy Agency — will begin with pre-pilot studies to assess technical feasibility and economic viability. If successful, they could pave the way for large-scale deployment of low-carbon cement production in the world’s second-largest cement market.