IIT Bombay, NTPC drill India’s first CO2 storage

The well has been drilled to study geological CO2 storage in sedimentary formations such as coal and sandstone, marking a major milestone in the field of Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)

Mumbai: In a significant step towards advancing carbon capture and storage technology in India, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and IIT Bombay have successfully finished drilling India’s first well to test the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide deep underground.

IIT Bombay, NTPC drill India’s first CO2 storage

The well has been drilled to study geological CO2 storage in sedimentary formations such as coal and sandstone, marking a major milestone in the field of Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). This field aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by preventing carbon from entering the atmosphere, but either storing the captured CO2 permanently deep underground or converting it into reusable products like fuel or building materials.

The collaboration began in November 2022 under the guidance of NITI Aayog and brought together NETRA (NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance), the research and development arm of NTPC, and the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Bombay. As part of the project, the teams developed India’s first geological storage atlas identifying and mapping methane-rich coalfields. The atlas includes detailed, layer-by-layer simulation results supported by experimental data to estimate the potential for storing CO2 in four major coalfields across the country.

Building on this work, NTPC and IIT Bombay launched India’s first dedicated drilling operation for potential CO2 storage in September 2025. The drilling reached a depth of 1,200 metres at Pakri Barwadih, located near an active coal mining area in Jharkhand, and was completed on November 15. A second well was initiated on December 21. The project team plans to carry out CO2 injection and monitor the movement of the injected gas using these two wells.

Dr V.K. Saraswat, Member of NITI Aayog and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the DST-National Centre of Excellence in CCUS at IIT Bombay, said the success comes at a crucial time as India works towards its net-zero targets under the Panchamrit climate goals. He stressed the importance of developing indigenous technologies for commercial deployment and underlined the need for careful monitoring of underground conditions, injection pressure, well safety and seismic activity.

NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Gurdeep Singh said the achievement is an important step in the country’s decarbonisation efforts. IIT Bombay Director Prof. Shireesh Kedare said the project highlights the role of applied research in shaping India’s energy transition.

Project lead Prof. Vikram Vishal said the initiative marks a shift from laboratory research to field-level implementation. He added that early studies show high CO2 storage potential in the North Karanpura coalfield, with the Pakri Barwadih block alone capable of storing up to 15.5 million tonnes of CO2 over a 10-year period.

The project will now provide detailed feasibility studies, risk assessments and a commercial development plan for large-scale carbon storage. India’s CCUS programme is being taken forward in mission mode with the Ministry of Power as the nodal agency, supported by multiple ministries, to help reduce emissions and move closer to net-zero goals.