Six capture pathways. Hundreds of licensors. One independent view.
The global CCUS technology market has expanded dramatically over the past decade. There are now more than 40 commercial licensors offering post-combustion capture solvents alone, alongside competing pre-combustion gasification pathways, oxy-fuel variants, direct air capture systems, and emerging mineralisation technologies. For an Indian industrial company entering this market for the first time, the task of selecting the right technology is overwhelming — and the consequences of choosing wrong are measured in hundreds of millions of dollars and decades of operational underperformance.
NCM's Technology Evaluation service cuts through this complexity with a structured, vendor-neutral methodology developed from direct experience in evaluating technologies for Gorgon (Australia), Northern Lights (Norway), and Net Zero Teesside (UK). We hold no licensing agreements with any CCUS technology vendor, receive no commissions, and have no financial interest in any outcome other than your project's success.
Our evaluations are built on three pillars: technical fit (does the technology match your flue gas composition, temperature, pressure, and process constraints?), economic performance (what is the cost per tonne captured under Indian energy prices, water costs, and capital markets?), and maturity risk (what is the technology readiness level, reference plant track record, and licensor financial standing?). Every recommendation is documented, auditable, and designed to withstand lender due diligence.
NCM's technology evaluation methodology was developed in partnership with engineers who led technology selection for the Gorgon and CO₂CRC Otway projects in Australia and the Porthos EPC process in the Netherlands. It applies a four-stage gate process: screening (TRL ≥6, commercial reference plants, licensor viability), technical fit (process integration, utility balance, site constraints), economic modelling (LCOC at Indian energy prices and capex), and risk assessment (technology, supply chain, regulatory, operational).
The methodology produces a Technology Selection Report that ranks evaluated options on a weighted multi-criteria matrix, documents the basis for each score, and presents a recommended primary technology alongside a contingency alternative. This structure is specifically designed to satisfy the technical due diligence requirements of IFC, ADB, and EIB project lenders — who require independent technology assessments as a condition of project finance.
Where a technology is at lower TRL but strategically important for India's long-term CCUS trajectory — such as direct air capture or basalt mineralisation using India's Deccan Traps — NCM provides a separate emerging technology assessment that maps the development pathway and identifies the conditions under which the technology becomes commercially viable for Indian deployment.
Commercial PCC solvent licensors evaluated in our global technology database
Capture technology pathways assessed across all major industrial sectors
Vendor-neutral — no licensing agreements, no referral commissions
Minimum readiness level for primary technology recommendation on bankable projects
Every CCUS technology evaluation we conduct is recalibrated to Indian conditions — not benchmarked against the North Sea or the US Gulf Coast. India's high ambient temperatures (35–45°C for much of the year in major industrial zones) significantly affect capture solvent performance, cooling water requirements, and compressor efficiency compared to European reference conditions. NCM's thermal models account for seasonal temperature variation across India's major industrial corridors — Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
India's coal characteristics also matter significantly. Indian coal has a higher ash content (25–45%) and lower calorific value than Australian or South African thermal coal, producing flue gas with different particulate loading, SO₂ content, and CO₂ concentration than the reference conditions used by most licensor performance guarantees. NCM's technology evaluations include a coal quality adjustment module that recalculates capture efficiency and solvent consumption for Indian coal grades.
Water availability is a critical constraint for post-combustion and oxy-fuel capture in India's water-stressed industrial regions. NCM evaluates every technology option against the water balance of the specific site — and where water stress is identified, preferentially evaluates dry-cooled and water-minimisation variants of leading technologies.
The cost of electricity in India — particularly for energy-intensive capture processes — is evaluated against both grid power and potential captive power sources, including waste heat recovery from industrial processes, which can substantially reduce the energy penalty of capture. These India-specific parameters mean that the optimal technology for an Indian steel mill may be different from the optimal technology for an equivalent European facility.
Whether you are a government body seeking policy advice, an industrial company facing CBAM exposure, or an investor seeking CCUS project opportunities — our team is ready to engage.