Including IPCC, most experts are of the opinion that carbon capture, both from concentrated sources such as power plants as well as Direct Air Capture, is a must if the world has to reach a 1.5 degrees C state by 2100.
This perhas has been the reason why prominent investors such as Bill Gates got into the act and also the reason why there are suddenly hundreds of startups worldwide in the business of CO2 capture.
In India however, you will find hardly any. My research in the recent days have led to the discovery of only two of them - Carbon Clean (which was founded in India but currently headquartered in the UK), and Praan.
A few others such as Breathe are into utilization of CO2 (in this case, to chemicals such as methanol).
But overall, one could safely say that serious carbon capture and/or utilization startups in India can be counted in one hand's fingers.
This should not surprise anyone CCUS is an expensive and untested field, with too much investments needed for results that are hitherto uncertain. Add to it that there is currently no pressure on or from the Indian government to invest in CCUS.
While some centers of excellence in CCUS have been established, these are very early days.
I'm not bullish about the prospects for CCUS startups in India (unless they are serving international markets) for the 2022-2030 period. What are your thoughts?
