This report identifies pathways for India’s cement industry to decarbonise at a pace compatible with the national climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.
Cement production is responsible for approximately 6–7% of India's greenhouse gas emissions, and these are primarily from three sources: limestone calcination, fuel combustion, and electricity use. Limestone calcination releases carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product of chemically transforming limestone into clinker, and the process accounts for approximately 56% of cement sector emissions. Fuel combustion for kilns contributes 32% and electricity use for grinding and auxiliary operations accounts for the remaining 12%. Over the last decade, the adoption of vertical roller mills and advanced process controls have optimized specific electrical energy consumption and stabilized thermal energy intensity. These advances demonstrate that Indian cement manufacturing is already among the most efficient globally.
Thus, reducing emissions from the cement industry in line with India’s climate goals will require structural interventions. The pathways detailed in this report focus on supply-side interventions in cement decarbonisation. They also take into account supply chain and cost considerations, enabling factors, and complementary strategies that may take longer to implement.
Five Strategic Levers to Reduce Emissions in Cement Manufacturing
- Increasing the use of alternative fuels. Today, only 6% of the energy used to heat cement kilns in India comes from alternative fuels such as biomass and refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Increasing the thermal substitution rate (TSR) from 6% to 20% by 2030 will require a reliable supply of these fuels. Establishing a streamlined system for the interstate movement of agricultural residues, biomass, and municipal waste suitable for cement co-processing would strengthen supply chains, simplify approvals, and accelerate the adoption of alternative fuels.
- Increasing the use of clinker substitutes. Reducing the share of clinker in cement through the increased use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) can address 7–15% of cement-sector emissions.1 Because clinker accounts for 85–90% of cement CO2, emissions, every percentage-point reduction translates directly into lower embodied emissions. India already leads globally, with one of the lowest clinker-to-cement ratios (~0.73), but sustaining this edge will require scaling next-generation SCMs such as limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) as conventional fly ash and slag supplies tighten. Continued evolution of standards, performance-based specifications, and adoption across the construction industry will be critical to unlock deeper reductions.
- Increasing energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is the foundational lever, though no longer the primary source of future gains. Two decades of modernisation have made cement made in India among the most energy efficient globally, with thermal consumption of ~731 kcal/kg of clinker and electrical consumption of ~73 kWh/tonne, well below global averages of 838 kcal/kg and ~104 kWh/tonne. Because most plants now operate near the thermodynamic limits of clinkerisation, further gains will be incremental. Efficiency thus remains essential for cost competitiveness and enables the other levers but is no longer a standalone route to deep decarbonisation.
- Decarbonising electricity. Cement plants use a lot of electricity, mostly for grinding and material handling, and this accounts for about 12% of the sector's CO2 emissions. Cutting these emissions could deliver 20–30% of the abatement the sector needs. There are three ways to do it. The first is to switch to cleaner power: leading companies have already installed over 1,800 MW of renewables, mostly solar and wind, wheeled through the grid. The second is to capture waste heat from kilns, where India can scale from 538 MW today to around 1,100 MW, though this potential will shrink over time as kilns become more efficient. The third is simply to use less electricity, through equipment like variable frequency drives and vertical roller mills. Together, these steps cut emissions and reduce dependence on coal-based power.
- Scaling carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. CCUS is the long-term backstop for emissions that no other lever can eliminate. Because around 56% of cement's CO2 comes from limestone calcination, a reaction independent of fuel or efficiency, even fully optimised plants emit substantial process CO2 that only capture can address. India has moved CCUS from ambition to a funded priority, with ₹20,000 crore committed in the 2026–27 Union Budget. Viability hinges on utilisation (converting CO2 into products such as green urea and building materials) and a hub-and-cluster model for shared transport and storage. With capture costs at USD40–120 per tonne, CCUS is a post-2040 lever as technology and infrastructure mature.
Global Policy Landscape
A survey of selected other countries and regions (Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, the European Union, Germany, and the United States) show common approaches to reducing emissions in the cement sector. The suite of policies includes those that promote decarbonisation through alternate fuels, clinker reduction with alternate cements and SCMs like limestone calcined clays, waste heat recovery, renewable energy deployment, CCUS, and demand-side optimization. Supportive elements used to advance technology adoption and market transformation include regulatory infrastructure, standards for low-carbon products to support their mainstreaming, green public procurement to promote market demand, pilots and demonstrations to build market confidence, market-wide stakeholder engagement to build acceptance, innovative financing models to cover the green premium, and carbon pricing through emissions trading schemes or cap and invest mechanisms. These strategies align with ones currently pursued and recommended for the Indian market. India exports cement to other countries in Asia, Africa and the European Union. Decarbonisation of the Indian cement sector is in alignment with evolving global policy developments, including the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and is important to maintain competitiveness in export markets.
Low-Carbon Cements for Construction Industry Adoption
The construction industry will need to adopt cements made from processes that are less reliant on clinker. The most promising of these are limestone calcined clay cement, composite cements, and geopolymer cements. Noida International Airport (Jewar), India’s first large-scale deployment of limestone calcined clay cement, marks a major step in low-carbon construction.
Emerging Process Technologies to Further Lower Emissions
Other emerging technologies at mid-to-high technology readiness levels with the potential to drive deeper decarbonisation in the near and medium term include use of mineralizers to reduce energy consumption, fluidized beds for calcination to facilitate energy efficiency and CCUS, low-pressure-drop cyclones to reduce electricity consumption, and high-efficiency classifiers that reduce electricity use by optimizing grinding.
Three Phases of Decarbonisation
Decarbonising the Indian cement sector can be organized into three phases:
- Phase 1 (2025–2030): Address the low-hanging fruit. Scale composite cements and operationalise limestone calcined clay cement. Aim for 100% coverage of waste heat recovery systems across integrated units and increase the renewable energy share to over 50%. Achieve a thermal substitution rate (or TSR, this is use of alternative fuels instead of conventional fossil fuels) of 15–20%.
- Phase 2 (2030–2040): Deploy technologies maturing today and transition from fossil fuel dependence to circular economy principles. Achieve a TSR of 30% or higher, widespread deployment of electric fleets for logistics, and the integration of oxyfuel kilns that improve the efficiency of CCUS.
- Phase 3 (2040–2070): Address unavoidable process emissions by deploying CCUS and potentially adopting green hydrogen for thermal energy.
By implementing the decarbonisation levers described in this report, the Indian cement sector can successfully decouple growth from emissions and provide a blueprint for emerging economies and others in the Global South.
Download the research report
| Suggested Citation |
| Singh, A. K., B. Pandey, P. Srinivasan, S. Kumar and P.K. Singh. 2026. Decarbonisation in the Indian Cement Industry: Technical Report on Pathways, Technologies and Policy Enablers for Low-Carbon Cement. New Delhi: Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, aceee.org/resource/india-cement-decarbonization/ |
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