Tamil Nadu has been selected as one of five sites in India to host a pioneering carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) testbed, aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in the cement industry—responsible for around seven to eight percent of the country’s industrial carbon footprint. This initiative supports India's 2070 net-zero target.

The CCU testbed will be established at Ultratech Cement’s Reddipalayam plant in Ariyalur district, with technical support from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) and BITS Pilani, Goa campus. Part of a national programme led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the initiative seeks to validate CCU technologies that capture carbon dioxide and convert it into useful products such as synthetic fuels, urea, soda ash, food-grade CO2, and concrete aggregates.

The Reddipalayam site will test an oxygen-enriched combustion system, capable of capturing up to two tonne of CO2 per day, which will then be mineralised using concrete blocks, fines, and sludge. Other CCU testbeds are being developed in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Sundergarh and Rajganjpur in Odisha, and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, each trialling varied carbon capture technologies with academic and industry collaboration.