CCUS Policy Tracker 2025
Why Policy Now Decides the Business Case
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) can bolt onto a chimney and divert flue-gas CO₂ into a pipeline, a truck or a product such as food-grade gas. Whether that retrofit makes commercial sense hinges on three levers:
- Mandates – new industrial units must now be "capture-ready."
- Carrots – grants, tax shields and ≤ 8% green loans soften cap-ex.
- Measurement – regulators will verify every tonne, so credits or penalties become cash-flow items.
In spring 2025 both India and the United Arab Emirates locked these levers into statute, giving emitters a clear rulebook. Need to know which lever bites you first? Request a 20-minute call-back, e-mail sales@ssgaslab.com or phone +91-0120-6900219
2025 – The Regulations Finally Land
| 2025 milestone | India | UAE |
|---|---|---|
| Primary text | Draft Green-house-gas Emissions-Intensity (GEI) Rules 2025 add "capture-ready" language for new boilers > 20 MW. | Federal Decree-Law 11 / 2024 brands CCUS a "regulated mitigation activity" and creates a license. |
| Interim target | Sector-wide intensity caps (numbers due by Gazette). | 14 Mt CO₂ yr⁻¹ captured by 2030. |
| Penalty / cap | Draft fines ₹800–1,200 t⁻¹ CO₂. | Leakage cap < 0.5% yr⁻¹; exceed it and the permit pauses. |
Show me the money – Grants, Tax Shields, Cheap Debt and the Scale of the Gap
| Incentive lever | India (Q2 2025) | UAE (Q2 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Cap-ex grants | SECI Green-Hydrogen VGF → 40% of CCUS capital in approved H₂ clusters. | Abu Dhabi Free-Zone cap-grant → 25% of CCUS spend. |
| Tax shields | Draft Income-Tax change → 40% Y1 depreciation on capture kit. | Climate-Decree Annex 2 → 50% write-off over two years. |
| Concessional loans | SIDBI "Green-Equipment" line ≤ 8% p.a. Tenor ≤ 10 yr. | Masdar green-bond on-lending ≈ SOFR + 1.75%. |
| Total capital needed | ≈ US $1.3 trillion if deployed at today's costs; could fall to US $0.5 trillion as hydrogen and capture prices drop. | |
Take-away — concessional finance must scale by an order of magnitude to match the sector's real cap-ex need.
Still sorting which carrot applies?
• Ask our policy desk for a quick call-back • e-mail • or call us.
Two Different Permitting Swim-Lanes
India folds CCUS into its EIA portal—add an environmental addendum, leakage plan, verifier letter and bond; timeline ≤ 180 days.
UAE issues a standalone "CCUS Activity License"; pilots report 60–70 days against a 90-day target.
Thirty-Year Proof – Vishnu Chemicals, Andhra Pradesh
Running since 1992 – an MEA skid still strips ~170 t CO₂ d⁻¹ from a coal boiler and converts it to food-grade barium carbonate. Historic payback < 5 years; three absorber re-packs keep leakage well below the new UAE cap.
Expert Insight
"By labelling CCUS a regulated mitigation activity, we've unlocked bankable pipelines."
— Dr Hessa Al-Matrooshi, UAE MoCCAE (Policy Forum, Apr 2025)
Quick FAQ
Yes, but zones can top it up with extra grants.
Phase I only avoids a fine; Phase II may add tradable credits.
Annual; six-month grace to fix.
Yes—if ISO 14065 accredited and recognised by BIS & EIAC.
What Still Needs Clarity?
- Will "capture-ready" audits verify design or live performance?
- UAE pipeline tariff formula—draft expected late 2025.
- Digital MRV templates—Excel upload or API?
Bottom Line
2025 is the year CCUS became licensed, measurable and financeable in India and the UAE. Early filers secure grants, soft loans and contractor slots before penalties climb.
References
- Draft Green-house-gas Emissions-Intensity Rules 2025 (India).
- UAE Federal Decree-Law 11/2024 on Climate Change.
- UAE Net-Zero Strategy 2025 update.
- Press coverage of proposed India carbon-market fines.
- UAE leakage-cap clause.
- SIDBI Green-Equipment loan window.
- Masdar Green-Bond framework.
- How Can Green-Hydrogen-Based CCUS Applications Decarbonise Hard-to-Abate Steel and Cement Industries? (CEEW, 2025) – investment sizing fig. 12.
- Vishnu Chemicals case study, AIChE proceedings.