INDIA’S CARBON CAPTURE & UTILIZATION NETWORK (CO2INDIA)
CO2India: Uniting Minds to Combat Climate Change
Climate change, driven by excessive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, stands as the most pressing challenge humanity has ever faced. Capturing CO2 and transforming it into valuable materials and fuels offers one of the most promising solutions to address this crisis.
While India is home to numerous research groups excelling in CO2 capture and utilization, much of this work remains confined to academic publications, with limited real-world impact. Recognizing the urgent need to bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and practical solutions, we established CO2India — a dynamic network bringing together over 1,000 members, including faculty, scientists, postdocs, students, and industry professionals.
This collaborative platform is dedicated to driving innovation in CO2, energy, and climate research, fostering partnerships that transform high-quality fundamental science into real-world technologies to tackle climate change head-on.
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
ABOUT THE CO2INDIA NETWORK
Climate change, driven by the excessive accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, is one of the most critical challenges humanity has ever faced. Among the most effective solutions to address this issue are the strategic capture of CO2 and its transformation into valuable materials and fuels. While India boasts a wealth of research expertise in CO2 capture and utilization, much of this high-quality foundational research remains confined to publications, with limited translation into real-world technologies.
To bridge this gap, CO2India, founded under the leadership of Prof. Vivek Polshettiwar, unites more than 1,000 members, including faculty, scientists, postdoctoral researchers, students, and industry professionals. This pioneering network serves as a collaborative platform for researchers and industry leaders in CO2, energy, and climate research.
The core membership comprises esteemed academic researchers from institutions such as IITs, IISERs, JNCASR, IISc, CSIR, DST, and leading universities, alongside experts from industries including Reliance, Adani, BPCL, and Tata Steel. CO2India is dedicated to fostering innovation, collaboration, and the translation of fundamental research into impactful technologies to tackle climate change effectively.
CO2India’s mission is not just to conduct high-quality research but also to create pathways for its translation into impactful technologies, fostering innovation, collaboration, and practical solutions to one of the most formidable challenges of our time. By bridging the gap between lab-scale innovation and large-scale implementation, CO2India aims to catalyze the development of transformative technologies to combat climate change.
Challenges to Scaling CO2 Utilization Technologies and Potential Opportunities for INDIA
India has made notable progress in fundamental research on CO2 utilization, but significant challenges hinder the translation of laboratory-scale innovations into commercial technologies. Addressing these challenges is critical for scaling solutions that contribute to the global fight against climate change. Key challenges and their potential solutions include:
-
Funding and Investment Challenges:
Deep-tech innovations like CO2 utilization require substantial capital for research, scaling, and commercialization. However, India lacks a robust investment ecosystem for such projects, with investors often favoring IT and service-based startups for quicker returns.
Solution: Establish public-private funding initiatives and government-backed clean tech funds to de-risk investments in high-risk, long-term projects. These funds should co-invest with venture capitalists, encouraging private sector participation in CO2 technologies. -
Weak Industry-Academia Collaboration:
Effective collaboration between academia and industry is limited, resulting in technologies that remain in labs or publications without scaling to real-world applications.
Solution: Foster stronger partnerships through innovation consortia, workshops, and industry-led research programs. A model like Germany’s Fraunhofer Institutes, which focus on applied research in close collaboration with industry, could accelerate translation efforts in India. -
Limited Intellectual Property (IP) Development and Technology Transfer Infrastructure:
Many Indian research institutions lack robust frameworks for patent filing, licensing, and commercialization, hindering the transition of innovations from lab to market.
Solution: Incentivize IP development by covering patent costs and providing financial rewards for filing patents. Establish well-equipped technology transfer offices and incubators to support researchers in transforming discoveries into commercial products. -
Inadequate Pilot Plant and Manufacturing Facilities:
Scaling lab experiments to pilot plants requires specialized infrastructure, which is currently unavailable in most research institutions and startups.
Solution: Develop shared infrastructure and open-access pilot facilities through public-private partnerships. These centers can provide affordable access to state-of-the-art testing and scale-up facilities for startups and researchers. -
Risk-Averse Culture and Lack of Entrepreneurial Support:
Indian academia and industry are often risk-averse, discouraging researchers from pursuing high-risk, high-reward projects and entrepreneurial ventures.
Solution: Establish cleantech-focused innovation incubators and accelerators. Offer entrepreneurship training and financial incentives, such as innovation grants, to encourage researchers to commercialize their work. -
Skills Gap and Talent Retention:
Translating science into industry demands a mix of technical, engineering, and business skills, which are often lacking. Additionally, India faces brain drain as top talent seeks opportunities abroad.
Solution: Launch national programs for training researchers in entrepreneurship and commercialization. Create fellowships and cross-disciplinary education programs that integrate industry experience to develop a skilled workforce for CO2 technology commercialization. -
Long Timeframes for Deep-Tech Innovation:
Unlike software startups, deep-tech innovations take years, if not decades, to mature, deterring investors and researchers.
Solution: Adopt long-term funding models, including milestone-based public-private investments and multi-year government support similar to Horizon Europe or ARPA-E. These models can ensure sustained progress and attract private investment.
By addressing these challenges through targeted solutions, India can unlock its potential to lead in CO2 utilization technologies, fostering sustainable innovation and contributing significantly to global climate goals.
THE VISION OF CO2INDIA NETWORK
Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, one of the chief architects of Government of India's Scientific Policy Resolution (1958), said “The key to national prosperity, apart from the spirit of the people, lies in the modern age, in the effective combination of three factors: technology, raw material and capital of which the first is perhaps the most important, since the creation and adoption of new scientific techniques can, in fact, make up for a deficiency in natural resources, and reduce the demands on capital. But technology can only grow out of a study of science and its applications.”
Dr. Homi Bhabha built DAE and BARC and gave India Nuclear Power, the best example of Indigenous development and "Atmanirbhar Bharat". Now it's time to harvest Solar Power and CO2 for India’s growth. CO2India is the network of scientific excellence, where the study of science follows the holistic approach with cutting-edge research.
This vibrant network ( with a world-class incubation and technology transfer center) aim to combat climate change by developing indigenous CO2 capture and conversion technologies.
OUR GOALS
CO2India’s Vision for Climate Action & India’s Technological Sovereignty
In an era where climate change, propelled by excessive carbon dioxide emissions, presents a formidable challenge to humanity, our collective response to this crisis becomes not just a matter of environmental stewardship, but a test of our resilience and innovation. As the members of CO2India, we all are aware of the gravity of our mission and the transformative potential of our collective effort.
-
Addressing the Climate Emergency: Climate change, undeniably the most serious problem mankind has ever faced, marks a critical juncture in human history. It underscores a stark reality: our disproportionate exploitation of natural resources, especially fossil fuels, has precipitated an extreme imbalance on our planet. This imbalance is not just environmental—it is a clarion call for an immediate and strategic response, a response that lies at the heart of CO2India's mission.
-
Innovative Solutions for CO2 Reduction: Our approach transcends traditional carbon capture methods. We champion the conversion of CO2 into fuel and value added products, leveraging it as a zero-cost carbon feedstock. This innovative pathway not only mitigates the environmental impact of CO2 but also presents a sustainable solution for energy production. Parallel to this, we explore alternative energy sources like renewable electricity through solar cells and green hydrogen production via photo- and electrocatalytic water splitting. Acknowledging the challenges in energy and hydrogen storage, we are committed to advancing these technologies to their fullest potential.
-
Atmanirbhar Bharat: The Path to Self-Reliance: In alignment with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India), our network staunchly advocates for indigenous research and technology development. The era of dependency on imported technologies must give way to a new chapter of innovation and self-sufficiency. Embracing Dr. Homi J. Bhabha's philosophy, we believe that technology, rooted in fundamental scientific research, is the key to national prosperity and resource independence. Following in the footsteps of Dr. Bhabha's pioneering work in nuclear power, CO2India is poised to spearhead India's journey towards harnessing solar and CO2 power.
-
Building a Collaborative Research Network: CO2India is not just a network; it is a confluence of India's brightest minds in science and engineering, committed to addressing the multifaceted challenges of climate change. Our focus spans diverse research areas, including materials chemistry, CO2 capture and conversion, and theoretical/computational and spectroscopic studies to deepen our understanding of these processes. The network is also dedicated to the practical aspects of technology transfer and incubation, ensuring that our scientific discoveries translate into tangible societal benefits.
-
Driving Forward with Shared Goals: Our objectives are clear: to unite all stakeholders in India's CO2 research landscape, facilitate world-class scientific discourse through meetings and conferences, and foster collaborative research projects. We aim to bridge the gap between research and policy, ensuring that carbon capture and utilization becomes a cornerstone in the manufacturing of chemicals and fuels, thus propelling India towards its 'Net Zero' goal.
Activities of CO2India Network:
The CO2India Network engages in a series of high-impact activities designed to elevate India's position in the global arena of carbon dioxide research and the development of indigenous Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies. These initiatives are meticulously crafted to foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation within the CCUS domain:
-
Facilitating National Collaboration: Our aim is to create a comprehensive network connecting all individuals across India—including faculty, scientists, postdoctoral researchers, students, industry experts, and policymakers—who are dedicated to advancing CO2 research and the development of CCU technologies.
-
Expert-Led Webinars and Discussions: We organize webinars featuring global CCUS experts to ensure the community remains abreast of the latest developments and facilitates direct interactions with stalwarts in the field.
-
Conferences on Multidisciplinary Catalysis: The CO2India Network has been instrumental in orchestrating conferences within the interdisciplinary domain of catalysis, aiming to foster the cross-fertilization of ideas and stimulate the development of innovative CCUS solutions. The Conference on Advances in Catalysis for Energy and Environment (CACEE series), initiated in 2018, was held at TIFR, Mumbai, drawing 250 attendees and 45 global experts. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, CACEE-2020 adapted to a virtual format, hosted by TIFR, Hyderabad. CACEE-2022, again at TIFR, Mumbai, saw around 300 researchers and 54 speakers engage in vibrant discussions. The series, highlighting the latest in catalysis and CCUS research, looks forward to its fourth edition in December 2024. Looking forward to CACEE-2024 during 16-20 December 2024 at TIFR, Mumbai, we are bringing more than 486 researchers together from various domains of chemistry.
-
Academia-Industry Discussion Meetings: We facilitate focused discussions between academia and industry to enhance the translation of CCUS research from laboratory to commercial scale.
-
Joint Research Proposals: We encourage the drafting of collaborative project proposals spanning fundamental to applied research in the CCUS domain.
-
Advocacy for Indian CCUS Institute: The CO2India network strongly advocates for the creation of dedicated institute that integrate fundamental science research with technology development and industrial application, all within a single, unified center. This institute would emphasize the critical role of fundamental sciences in advancing our understanding of CO2 capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) mechanisms. By unraveling the molecular and catalytic processes at the core of CCUS technologies, these centers would lay a robust foundation for innovation. Equally important, the institutes would focus on translating these scientific breakthroughs into scalable technologies through interdisciplinary collaboration, pilot projects, and partnerships with industry. Housing state-of-the-art facilities for experimentation, prototyping, and scale-up, these institutes would bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and real-world applications. By combining research, innovation, and commercialization under one roof, such centers aim to drive impactful solutions for mitigating CO2 emissions and tackling climate change.
-
Policy Contribution: CO2India actively shapes and refines India’s science and technology policies on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), aligning national research agendas with global climate commitments and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing evidence-based recommendations and fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers, the network promotes funding for fundamental research, public-private partnerships, and regulatory frameworks for safe and efficient CCUS deployment. CO2India ensures that India’s CCUS roadmap remains dynamic, science-driven, and focused on achieving carbon neutrality and energy security
CO2India Best PhD Thesis Award for CO2 Research
The CO2India network proudly recognizes Indian Ph.D. students through an esteemed award program that celebrates exceptional doctoral research contributing to India's goal of achieving self-reliance and a Net-Zero CO2 future. This initiative actively promotes innovative ideas and supports doctoral scholars whose work focuses on "CO2 Capture, Storage, and Utilization," thereby contributing to India's efforts to combat climate change.
The program honors maximum three outstanding winners, each receiving a cash prize and a certificate in recognition of their remarkable contributions. This accolade not only encourages the recipients but also underscores the network's commitment to fostering cutting-edge research and sustainable solutions that advance India's sustainability objectives.
Eligibility
The awards are open to Indian students who have submitted their Ph.D. thesis synopsis, completed their Ph.D. thesis, or obtained their Ph.D. degree between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024. Additionally, applicants must not have previously applied for these awards.
Application
To participate, provide a concise summary of your research findings, not exceeding 20 pages, including figures and references. Use A4 page layout, 1.2 line spacing, font size 11 or larger, with moderate margins. On the first page, include the title, your name, institute name, and an abstract highlighting the significance of your Ph.D. research in CO2 capture, storage, and utilization. The second page should list novel results, papers, manuscripts, patents, and other relevant contributions from your thesis. Last page should include a letter from your Ph.D. advisor confirming your eligibility.
Evaluation Criteria
The CO2India Core Committee will appoint an Evaluation Committee comprising subject matter experts. Submissions will be assessed based on the following criteria: Originality and Novelty (50%), which emphasizes unique and innovative approaches; Quality of Results and Data Analysis (25%), focusing on research rigor and data analysis precision; and Significance and Impact (25%), evaluating the contribution to India's self-reliance and Net-Zero CO2 goals. The best submissions will be invited for poster presentations at CACEE-2024. The top-ranked poster presenters will be invited to deliver oral talks. The Best Thesis Award will be judged based on these oral presentations.
CORE MEMBERS
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
(Arranged Alphabetically)
CONTACT US
Prof. Vivek Polshettiwar,
Department of Chemical Sciences (DCS),
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR),
Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400005 INDIA
+91-22-22782792/2051