Ambuja Cements-Leilac targets 1mt CO2 capture in Gujarat

What Ambuja Cements announced

Ambuja Cements said it has partnered with Leilac Limited, a UK-headquartered clean technology company, to develop what it described as one of the world’s largest commercial-scale pathways for low-carbon cement production. The project will be set up at Sanghipuram in Kutch, Gujarat, at Ambuja’s Sanghi cement plant. The company said the initiative is a commercial demonstration designed to evaluate carbon capture alongside changes in how heat is supplied in the cement process. Ambuja is part of the Adani Group’s cement and building materials business. The stated objective is to build an approach that can be expanded beyond a single facility if the demonstration meets expectations.

Location and plant details

The project will be implemented at Ambuja Cements’ 6.6 MTPA Sanghi plant in Sanghipuram. Ambuja said the site will be used to test the integration of Leilac’s carbon capture and hybrid electric heating technology. The company framed the demonstration as a step toward lower-emission cement production using higher shares of renewable electricity. It also said the approach targets the capture of unavoidable process carbon dioxide, a key emissions source in cement manufacturing.

How the technology is expected to work

Ambuja said the demonstration will evaluate the integration of two components: carbon capture and hybrid electric heating. The company stated that the approach supports lower-emission cement production through greater use of renewable electricity. It also highlighted the capture of unavoidable process CO2 released during cement manufacturing. Alongside carbon capture, the company said the technology is designed to enable a pathway where coal consumption can be reduced to zero. It added that alternate fuels can still be used flexibly within the process.

Scale-up target: more than one million tonnes annually

Ambuja said that if the project is successful, it could be scaled up by 7 to 8 times. The company said this would allow the capture of more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. It positioned the potential scale-up as a way to create a scalable pathway for low-carbon cement production in India and beyond. While the current phase is a commercial demonstration, the stated intent is to move toward larger deployment if results support it.

Why Ambuja is focusing on carbon capture

Cement is widely considered a hard-to-abate industrial sector because a significant portion of emissions comes from the process itself, not only from fuel combustion. Ambuja’s statement emphasised capturing “unavoidable process carbon dioxide,” indicating a focus on process emissions in addition to energy-related emissions. The company also linked the collaboration to its broader decarbonisation strategy. Ambuja reiterated its net zero target for 2050, positioning carbon capture and electrification as tools to work toward that goal.

Economics and the business case for deployment

Ambuja said the collaboration is expected to improve the economics of carbon capture. It said this would strengthen the business case for large-scale deployment of carbon capture and utilisation. For investors tracking cement decarbonisation, project economics matter because cement plants operate on cost-sensitive structures and face challenges in absorbing new technology costs. Ambuja’s emphasis on improving economics suggests the company is looking beyond a one-off pilot toward an approach that can be replicated.

How this fits into Ambuja’s wider net zero plan

Ambuja has publicly stated a net zero target for 2050, with targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The company has also said it plans to invest INR 100 billion in renewable energy projects of 1 GW capacity and 376 MW of energy from a Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS). Ambuja has stated that the renewable and WHRS plan is intended to power 60% of its expanded capacity through green power by FY2028. The Leilac collaboration aligns with this direction by linking lower-emission manufacturing to greater use of renewable electricity and technology-led process changes.

Other decarbonisation initiatives mentioned by the company

Separately, Ambuja has said it is accelerating decarbonisation through investments in renewable energy, heat recovery systems, and zero-carbon RotoDynamic Heater technology. The company has also said it was awarded funding under the LeadIT Industry Transition Partnership for a pre-pilot technology feasibility study for carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and EcoTech, Sweden. In another disclosure, Ambuja said it has been selected for the first Indo-Swedish CCU pilot in the global cement sector and received an Indo-Swedish grant for a pre-pilot technology feasibility study. Ambuja has stated the study includes plans to utilise captured CO2 for conversion into materials such as calcium carbonate or green methanol using green hydrogen pathways.

Key facts at a glance

Market impact and what to watch next

Ambuja’s announcement highlights how cement producers are testing multiple decarbonisation levers at once: renewable power, alternative heat systems, and carbon capture for process emissions. The project is still a demonstration, and the company has not provided timelines or capex for the Sanghipuram facility in the details shared. What matters next is whether the integration of carbon capture and hybrid electric heating at a working cement plant can support Ambuja’s stated goals around lowering emissions and reducing coal dependence. The company’s own framing links the project to making carbon capture economics stronger, which will influence whether it can be deployed at scale.

Conclusion

Ambuja Cements’ partnership with Leilac places carbon capture and electrified heating at the centre of its low-carbon cement pathway at the Sanghipuram plant in Gujarat. If the demonstration succeeds, Ambuja said it could scale the approach to capture more than one million tonnes of CO2 annually, supporting its stated net zero 2050 ambition and wider decarbonisation roadmap.