India Launches Bio-Based Carbon Capture Projects to Turn CO₂ into Value

The initiative aims to transform industrial CO₂ emissions into value-added products, positioning carbon as a resource rather than a liability.

In a major push towards climate-resilient and low-carbon growth, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, has launched a new national cohort of projects focused on biomanufacturing for Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) under the BioE3 Policy. The initiative aims to transform industrial CO₂ emissions into value-added products, positioning carbon as a resource rather than a liability.

The announcement was made during a National Kick-off Event-cum-Workshop on “Biomanufacturing for Circular Bioeconomy; Carbon Capture and its Utilization (CCU)”, organised jointly by DBT and its PSU arm, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), at the National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi.

The event was inaugurated by Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog, who released the booklet “Biomanufacturing for Carbon Capture and its Utilization”, showcasing a portfolio of lab-to-field-scale deployable biosolutions. Formally announcing the implementation of DBT–BIRAC supported CCU projects, Dr. Saraswat highlighted biomanufacturing as a practical, scalable and innovation-driven pathway to reduce industrial emissions while creating new economic value chains.

“CCU-enabled biomanufacturing has the potential to simultaneously cut emissions, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and support India’s Net Zero 2070 commitment,” Dr. Saraswat said, underscoring the importance of sustained collaboration across academia, industry and policy to translate pilots into large-scale deployment in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

Setting the national context, Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, DBT; Director General, BRIC; and Chairman, BIRAC, described CCU-driven biomanufacturing as a cornerstone of the BioE3 Policy, enabling decarbonisation, defossilisation and zero-waste industrial growth. By treating CO₂ as a valuable feedstock, he noted, India can accelerate the transition to a green, inclusive and circular bioeconomy. Dr. Gokhale also highlighted enabling frameworks such as the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme as critical levers for rapid industry adoption.

Dr. Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director, BIRAC, emphasised that the initiative will help position India as a global leader in biological carbon valorisation and regenerative bioeconomy solutions, demonstrating the country’s ability to integrate cutting-edge science with industrial-scale manufacturing. Dr. Debasisa Mohanty, Director, NII, welcomed participants and reiterated NII’s commitment to supporting translational research and deployment.

The technical sessions reflected a strong industry–academia convergence. Leading academic institutions presented breakthrough bio-based CCU technologies, while industry stakeholders—including Aditya Birla Group, Jindal Steel and Power, Praj Industries, 4NBio, Engineers India Limited, and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)—shared operational insights on scale-up, deployment and market integration. Discussions focused on bridging gaps between laboratory innovation and real-world industrial application.

Representatives from steel and iron, fuels and chemicals, fibres and textiles, and clean-tech sectors highlighted growing industry interest in CCU as a viable emissions-mitigation pathway that also unlocks new value chains and sustainable manufacturing opportunities.

A strategic workshop and breakout sessions enabled deep dives into priority themes such as bioconversion and synthetic biology, electro-bio integration and reactor engineering, product development and market strategies, and policy, finance and entrepreneurship. These sessions helped map CCU technologies to industrial needs, identify partnership models, and outline policy and financing mechanisms to accelerate adoption.

The deliberations collectively underscored the need for shared pilot and field-scale demonstration clusters, common deployment infrastructure, indigenous IP generation, and enabling regulatory frameworks to fast-track CCU-led biomanufacturing.

Call to Action: 

DBT and BIRAC have invited early adopters from carbon-intensive industries, startups, and technology developers to partner in pilot and field-scale deployment of CCU biomanufacturing solutions. By participating early, industry players can shape standards, access emerging carbon markets, and gain a competitive edge in India’s transition to a low-carbon, circular bioeconomy.