India and Iceland Collaborate on Geothermal Energy and Carbon Management Innovations, ETEnergyworld

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<p>A key theme of the session was the integration of new technologies with existing infrastructure to enable a rapid and cost-effective transition to clean energy across the subcontinent.</p> — A key theme of the session was the integration of new technologies with existing infrastructure to enable a rapid and cost-effective transition to clean energy across the subcontinent.

The India–Iceland Roundtable held on the sidelines of India Energy Week brought together Indian public sector undertakings (PSUs), Icelandic technology companies and leading research institutions to accelerate bilateral cooperation in geothermal energy and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).

The high-level dialogue focused on turning conceptual goals into deployment-ready projects, specifically looking to marry Iceland’s world-renowned operational expertise with India’s massive, yet largely untapped, 10.6 GW geothermal potential.

A key theme of the session was the integration of new technologies with existing infrastructure to enable a rapid and cost-effective transition to clean energy across the subcontinent.

Concrete opportunities for geothermal development took centre stage, with significant attention given to ONGC’s Puga Valley project, which has already shown high-enthalpy results and a potential capacity of up to 100 MW. Additional prospects were identified in the Chumathang valley, and four hot spring zones in Arunachal Pradesh were identified by Oil India Ltd (OIL), setting a roadmap for joint resource assessments and pilot initiatives.

Beyond electricity generation, the Icelandic organisation ISOR highlighted the efficiency of direct heat utilisation, particularly from low-temperature fields, while the firm Geotropy is already advancing these efforts through recently signed Memorandums of Understanding to develop geothermal sites in Himachal Pradesh.

The partnership is equally focused on carbon management and the evolution of future fuels. The session highlighted the readiness of Indian PSUs, such as OIL’s landmark carbon capture and storage project in Rajasthan, which aims to capture about 200 tonnes of CO2 per day for storage in nearby wells via an 8 km pipeline.

Looking toward the aviation sector, the two nations discussed Iceland’s potential support in converting e-methanol into sustainable aviation fuel, a move that complements Indian Oil Corporation’s ongoing efforts to capture CO2 for methanol production.