Accelerating decarbonisation for India’s cement industry

India is the world’s second-largest cement producer, manufacturing 391 million tonnes in 2023, with >99% consumed domestically. It is crucial to India’s development and growth and is projected to grow at around 5% compound annual growth rate over the next decade, fuelled by increased urbanisation and infrastructure development. However, the industry is also a significant carbon emitter, responsible for ~6% of India’s carbon dioxide emissions, with an emission intensity of 0.67–0.68 tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO₂) per tonne of cement produced, higher than the global average of 0.58 tCO2 per tonne.

The cement industry’s emissions are not easily eliminated via relatively straightforward transition to clean energy, making it a ‘hard to abate’ sector. Estimates suggest 50–55% of emissions arise from calcination of limestone, a chemical process key to cement production. Carbon dioxide is released as calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) is broken down into CO₂ and lime (CaO), which is further used in clinker formation. Another 30–35% of emissions come from combustion of fossil fuels, primarily coal and petroleum coke, used to heat kilns and pre-calcinators to >1400°C for clinker production. Clinker is the main binding agent in cement, giving it the properties to harden and bind materials together. The remaining emissions come from electricity usage and emissions from logistics and other equipment.

The cement sector’s hard-to-abate emission footprint and growing relevance to the country’s infrastructure ambitions, combined with India’s goal to reach net-zero by 2070, demands decisive actions to regulate and control its emissions.

There has been a recent development regarding decarbonisation with notification of the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target Rules 2025. These rules, part of India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), provide a financial mechanism for cement companies to reduce their emission intensity. The draft rules mandate facilities in select hard-to-abate sectors to meet GHG emission intensity targets and have assigned baseline emission intensity values for 186 cement facilities along with their respective targets for 2026 and 2027. Facilities performing below these targets will earn credits, while those exceeding must purchase credits or face penalties. This is a positive first step towards decarbonising the cement industry. Expanding the current scope of the rules, which currently cover half ofas per DPIIT, and introducing detailed emission reduction strategies including additional incentives could further enhance decarbonisation.

Attacking emissions on two fronts

Interventions to reduce emissions in the Indian cement industry require both production and demand-side measures. A multi-pronged approach which targets energy and process-related emissions while also promoting product and process innovations like alternative cement chemistries, material efficiencyand waste heat recovery is needed. These innovations will need to be complimented with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies and efficient cement-use strategies. Production interventions consist of a) reducing the clinker factor, b) transitioning away from fossil fuels, c) improving electricity efficiency, and d) deploying CCUS technologies. On the demand side, a) increasing cement use efficiency and b) implementing green public procurement policies can help further lower emissions

The first and most immediate step is to reduce clinker factor - the proportion of clinker in the final product. Clinker production is the most carbon-intensive stage and has the highest scope for emission reduction. Globally, the average clinker factor is 0.63, while in India it was 0.75 in 2020. Lowering the clinker factor with blended cements and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), and calcined clays such as limestone calcined clay can yield significant emissions reductions ranging between 30–40% compared to regular Portland cement. A potential avenue for industrial expansion regarding limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) could be to consider mapping reserves of crude-grade kaolinite, as even medium to low-grade variants are well-suited for LC3 applications. Mahindra Lifespaces, a real estate developer has been using GGBS in its concrete for development projects, resulting in a 20–45% reduction in carbon dioxide content per cubic m³ of concrete along with cost savings as well.

Secondly, the industry must overhaul its reliance on fossil fuels. More than 95% of the thermal energy consumption in cement kilns comes from coal and pet coke. While the use of alternative fuels such as municipal solid waste, biomassand even green hydrogen remains nascent, these sources hold considerable potential. Addressing logistical, regulatoryand quality-related hurdles will help accelerate this shift. State Pollution Control Boards and local municipal authorities will need to work together to streamline the co-processing of waste, ensure consistent fuel quality, and offer targeted fiscal incentives for the adoption of low-carbon fuels.

On the electricity side, improving efficiency, maximising waste heat recoveryand mandating an accelerated transition to renewable energy sources can be essential steps towards decarbonisation. Waste heat recovery systems, which capture heat from kiln exhaust gases and convert it into electricity, are especially promising – environmentally and economically. Research estimates that 20–30% of a cement plant’s power requirements can be met by utilising waste heat for power generation technologies. While some cement plants have adopted this technology, its penetration remains limited due to high capital costs. A policy that mandates a minimum waste heat recovery capacity per unit of production, coupled with concessional financing and capital subsidies can accelerate adoption.

Carbon capture pilot projects

Even with aggressive improvements in fuel switching, efficiency,and clinker substitution, the cement industry cannot reach net zero without capturing its process emissions. CCUS must become a core pillar of India’s cement decarbonisation strategy. According to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), CCUS will need to account for nearly 25% of all emission reductions required by the Indian cement sector to achieve net zero by 2070. However, its deployment in India remains largely at the pilot stage.

A comprehensive strategy for industrial CCUS by the central government which identifies geological storage basins, streamlines licensing, and offers viability gap funding for demonstration projects would be pivotal in developing and deploying these technologies. India has begun doing this in the cement and steel sectors through the Department of Science and Technology’s first cluster of CCUS testbeds in academia–industry collaboration launched in May 2025. The five testbeds are collaborative industrial pilot projects bringing together India’s top research institutions like IIT and BITS, with leading cement manufacturers like Ultratech and JSW under a unique public–private partnership (PPP) model.

Demand-side interventions can also prove to be effective policy levers for decarbonisation. Optimising the use of cement in construction and infrastructure can reduce emissions by up to 30%. This includes promoting design and construction techniques that minimise overuse and adopting alternative building materials such as fly ash bricks and geopolymer concretes.

Green public procurement policies are always a powerful lever. Like green ratings for steel, green ratings for cement, along with mandating low emission cement construction practices in government infrastructure projects such as roads, public buildings, and affordable housing, the government can create predictable demand and encourage market transformation.

The Indian cement industry requires a collective push to align with the nation’s net zero ambition. The CCTS and GHG Emission Intensity Target Rules’ effectiveness can increase through detailed strategies and a clear roadmap laid for the industry to achieve these targets. The cement industry will greatly benefit from a more consolidated approach and wider participation, akin to the National Green Steel Mission, wherein a ministry makes a concerted and consistent effort with relevant industry stakeholders to decarbonise the sector. The Taxonomy of Green Steel, the greening the steel sector in India roadmap and action plan, along with pilot project synergies with the National Green Hydrogen Mission are key initiatives taken by the Ministry of Steel to ensure that a holistic and collaborative reduction in emissions is made. A similar approach can help propel a National Green Cement Mission to create accelerate impact at scale in India.

India’s ambition to become a $5 trillion economy and meet its net zero goals must go hand in hand. A comprehensive and collaborative push from the government through synergetic policies and a coherent roadmap to decarbonise the cement industry can prove critical to the country’s decarbonisation efforts.