India cannot build a $10 trillion economy without cement. It also cannot meet its climate ambitions if cement remains as carbon-intensive as it is today. That is the paradox at the heart of India’s infrastructure story.
Demand will only grow as the country urbanizes. India’s cement production could rise from about 391 million tonnes in 2023 to around 660 million tonnes by 2030, according to Niti Aayog. Even if emissions per tonne continue to fall, total emissions are likely to rise because India will simply be making much more of the stuff.
The debate is often framed as a search for breakthrough technologies. But India already knows how to make cleaner cement. The challenge is to create a market that rewards it.
The industry often deserves more credit than it receives.
Over the past two decades, Indian producers have become among the world’s most efficient. They have lowered energy consumption, expanded renewable electricity, installed waste heat recovery systems and increased the production of blended cements, according to a report by the Global Cement and Concrete Association.
But efficiency improvements are reaching their limits. Unlike many industries, cement’s biggest problem is chemistry rather than fuel. More than half of its emissions come from making clinker, the binding ingredient in cement. Heating limestone releases carbon dioxide as part of a chemical reaction.
Even replacing coal energy with renewable electricity cannot eliminate these process emissions. That is why cement remains one of the world’s hardest industries to decarbonize.
The next phase requires changing the material itself. One of India’s most promising innovations is limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), developed through a collaboration involving IIT Delhi, IIT Madras and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
By replacing a significant share of clinker with calcined clay and limestone, LC3 can substantially reduce emissions while relying on raw materials that are widely available in India. It is one of the few low-carbon cement technologies with real potential for large-scale deployment in developing economies.
India’s leading cement companies have already begun positioning themselves for that future. UltraTech has expanded blended cements, renewable energy and waste heat recovery while investing in new low-carbon technologies. Dalmia Bharat has pursued lower-clinker products, greater use of alternative fuels and research on carbon capture as part of its climate strategy. Shree Cement has focused on improving energy efficiency and increasing renewables across its operations.
Such investments reveal not only that the industry is preparing for a lower-carbon future, but also that it moves fastest when cleaner production improves competitiveness or lowers operating costs.
The more difficult technologies tell a different story. Carbon capture would likely be needed to contain emissions released during clinker production, but it remains expensive and commercially uncertain. India lacks the transport networks, storage infrastructure and financial incentives needed to deploy it at scale. Without these, expecting businesses to make huge investments may be unrealistic.
Also, much of India’s progress in reducing clinker has depended on fly ash from coal-fired power plants and slag from steel plants. As both sectors gradually decarbonize, these industrial by-products may grow less abundant. The materials helping cement become cleaner today may not be available in the quantities needed tomorrow. That makes alternatives such as LC3 even more important.
The industry’s future therefore depends on economic incentives. Today’s market still rewards the lowest upfront price rather than the lowest carbon footprint. Government agencies, among the country’s largest buyers of cement, rarely show a meaningful preference for lower-carbon products when awarding contracts for highways, railways, ports or public buildings. Typical investors mostly focus on capacity expansion, margins and market share, even as climate risks become financial risks.
India’s evolving Carbon Credit Trading Scheme is an important step, but carbon markets alone are unlikely to reshape investment decisions without complementary procurement standards, product specifications and clearer price signals.
This is ultimately a story about demand sluggishness rather than technological failure. India has much of the knowledge needed to make cement significantly cleaner. What it lacks is a system that consistently rewards companies for using that knowledge. Public procurement could create demand.
Financial institutions could recognize transition leaders. Regulators could encourage lower embodied carbon in construction. Together, these measures would do more to accelerate cleaner cement than waiting for the next technological breakthrough.
India’s infrastructure will define its economy for generations to come. The country has the technology to decarbonize it by using cleaner cement. Now, the country must create a market where producing it becomes a smart business decision.The author is an independent expert based in New Delhi, Kolkata and Odisha. Twitter: @scurve Instagram: @soumya.scurve.