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IIT Bombay, NTPC drill nation’s first CO2 storage test well
As per the information shared by IIT Bombay, the collaboration was launched in November 2022 under the aegis of NITI Aayog.
in September 2025, NTPC and IIT Bombay launched the country's first dedicated drilling reaching the depth of 1,200m, for potential CO2 storage at a site in Pakri Barwadih, Jharkhand, in the vicinity of a coal mining area, and completed it on November 15, 2025. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay along with NTPC have successfully completed the drilling of India’s first well for testing the viability of geological CO2 storage in sedimentary formations such as coal and sandstone. This is a major milestone for the country’s Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) efforts, which is an outcome of an academia–industry collaboration.
As per the information shared by IIT Bombay, the collaboration was launched in November 2022 under the aegis of NITI Aayog. The initiative brought together NETRA, NTPC’s research and development wing, and the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Bombay to develop India’s first geological storage atlas for coalbed methane-rich coalfields. The atlas provided layer-by-layer simulation results, supported by experimentally validated data, to quantify geological CO₂ storage potential across four major coalfields.
Subsequently, in September 2025, NTPC and IIT Bombay launched the country’s first dedicated drilling reaching the depth of 1,200m, for potential CO2 storage at a site in Pakri Barwadih, Jharkhand, in the vicinity of a coal mining area, and completed it on November 15, 2025. A second well drilling was initiated on December 21, 2025. Both CO2 injection and plume monitoring using these wells will be implemented.
Project lead Prof Vikram Vishal said the initiative marks a shift in research from laboratories to field deployment. He said, “The project will provide feasibility and risk assessments for a full-scale CCS development, including a detailed storage complex analysis and a commercial development plan. Preliminary studies indicate high geological CO2 storage potential in the North Karanpura coalfield, with the Pakri-Barwadih block showing potential to inject up to 15.5 Mt ove in a 10-year injection period.”
IIT Bombay said that in 2017, IIT Bombay and NTPC collaborated to curate India’s first CO2 capture and utilisation facility in the power sector, which led to the establishment of the Vindhyachal CCU plant that captures 20 tonnes of CO2 per day and converts it into a fuel-methane.
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