'Green hydrogen being a solution to everything a far-fetched idea'

In a Q&A, President & CEO of the US-based firm says Carbon capture, utilisation and storage tech offers the best solution to decarbonising existing industrial units over next two decades

Atanu Mukherjee, President and CEO of US-based Dastur Energy, tells Subhayan Chakraborty in an interview that Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology offers the best solution to decarbonising existing industrial units over the next two decades. Edited excerpts:

Which industries can effectively capture carbon in India ?

Oil & gas, coal and cement are the three key sectors that will drive the CCUS push. We are actively talking with public sector enterprises in the energy sector such as NTPC for a range of CCUS tech and Coal India for gasification technology. We have also had discussions with SAIL, and had conducted a feasibility study for CCUS at IOCL's Koyali refinery in Vadodara, Gujarat.

How does coal fit into the carbon capture story ?

We are focusing on coal because it's the most likely thing to do. One of the ways to make coal clean is through coal gascification, which also produces CO2 in a concentrated form. This can be easily captured, and stored or utilised. Coal will continue to be a primary source of energy in electricity generation. Carbon can also be captured from the flue gas created in the process.

Also, coal is used as a fuel in steel and cement production. Since there isn't significant amount of scrap-based or gas-powered steelmaking in India, coal will continue to be used. Over the past 10 years, India has significantly invested in blast furnace based steelmaking. As a result, these factories and power plants can't be shut down. Therefore they have to be retrofitted with carbon capture technology. That's the best solution for the next 10-20 years.

Given that CCUS tech is costly, how can the government realistically fund it on a large scale?

There is an inherent cost in CCUS, but there is also a significant opportunity in accessing low cost funds that are available internationally

In a study that we did for Niti Aayog, we have proposed a model to finance CCUS tech. We have suggested the creation of a body called the Carbon Capture Finance Corporation. The CCFC will be funded by low-cost sovereign or International Green Funds, Carbon Bonds or Climate Funds. By investing in CCUS projects, along with the utilisation of a part of the incremental tax revenue generated, it should be possible to fund the carbon capture credits, eventually leading to subsidy-neutral CCUS operations.

Is CCUS tech competing with alternative fuels such as green hydrogen for funds and attention?

First of all, you know, green hydrogen can only solve a certain set of problems. Producing green hydrogen requires a fully renewable source of electricity. That is not possible today. Also the cost of production is very high at $5.5-6 per kg. At that price, no industrial mechanism or tools can viably produce anything with fuel which is so expensive.

As a result, its not possible to produce it at a massive scale. So, green hydrogen being a solution to everything is a far-fetched idea. It is a part of the solutions for the future which we need to invest now. But it is nowhere near what people think of it.