The Global Cement and Concrete Association India (GCCA India), in collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has launched the "Decarbonisation Roadmap for the Indian Cement Industry: Net zero CO2 emissions by 2070". This aligns with the government of India's commitment to net-zero emissions and reflects the Indian cement sector's aspiration to lead in climate action.
The roadmap outlines a structured pathway for the Indian cement sector to achieve net zero CO2 by 2070, with an interim target for 2047 in line with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’. The roadmap has been developed through a collaborative effort involving industry leaders, research institutions, academia, and sectoral experts. To achieve these goals, the industry will require strong policy support and financial incentives from the government.
Per capita consumption of cement in India is 257kg, far less than the global average of 540kg (DPIIT, 2023). It is forecast that cement production in India will increase from 334Mt in 2019-20 to 1546Mt in 2070 with a CAGR of 3.1 per cent over a 50-year timeframe. This is expect to increase per capita cement consumption to ~877kg.
At the same time, the overall emission intensity of the Indian cement sector is projected to fall from 0.68t CO2/t cement in 2020 to 0.56 and 0.51t CO2/t cement in 2030 and 2047, respectively while envisaging net-zero by 2070.
The average clinker efficiency, ie, the specific (thermal) energy consumption (SEC) level of Indian cement plants, is envisaged to reduce from 731kcal/kg clinker in 2020 to 705kcal/kg clinker in 2070. It is thought that the cement industry would increase the share of biomass as fuel. Moreover, the low-carbon fuel mix would include a substantial share of green hydrogen, along with the use of innovative technologies such as kiln electrification and solar thermal, which would perhaps become viable beyond 2047.
Decarbonisation tools
To decarbonise its operations, the Indian cement industry is expected to use about 35 per cent of fossil fuel wastes as alternative fuels, which would help in shifting towards 100 per cent low-carbon fuel-mix by 2070.
Furthermore, the industry plans to use electricity more efficiently, along with maximising the potential of waste heat recovery and shifting to green electricity with renewable energy use (either through onsite generation, open access or ‘group captive plants’) to completely decarbonise its electricity consumption.
In addition to the production of blended cements such as Portland pozzolana cement (PPC) and Portland slag cement (PSC), it is envisaged that composite cement, limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) and Portland limestone cement (PLC) would play a major role in total cement production in 2070. The overall clinker factor is expected to fall from 0.75 in 2020 to about 0.56 in 2070.
There is also potential for innovative binders such as geopolymers, carbosilicate and calcium hydro silicate binders. The share of new binders is small due to limited availability of required raw materials.
Looking further ahead, models show that CCUS would account for about 25 per cent of total emission reductions in 2070.
Downstream, the roadmap also anticipates recarbonisation, the uptake of CO2 by concrete, will reduce greenhouse emissions over the lifetime of concrete accounting for up to 5.9 per cent of decarbonisation. It is further envisaged that the improvements in cement use efficiency would help to reduce societal demands for cement by about 30 per cent in 2070. This includes aspects around efficiency in concrete production, design and construction. Role of ready-mix concrete, increased use of pre-cast structures, design optimisation technologies, construction site efficiency, increased lifetime of buildings, optimised mix designs, etc.
Enabling factors
To enable the policy framework the report specifies the industry needs a robust supply chain network for alternative fuels.
In addition, low-carbon cements require a definition with strengthened public procurement policy and demand and government infrastructure and housing projects, plus new standards. Geological mapping of clay reserves will aid the development of LC3 production.
To develop CCUS in the industry, additional capex support is required for CCUS studies and plant while the government will also need to develop essential infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage.