Scope of Interventions for LC3 in Existing Government Policies
Infrastructure
development is widely acknowledged as the key to achieving growth. It
has been the primary focus area for the Government of India, and it is
reflected in its current policies and plans. The government has set out
to achieve ambitious goals of becoming a 5 trillion USD economy by the
end of 2024, which is important for the cement industry as it paves the
way for infrastructural development and lays the foundation for building
a new India (Thomas, 2020).
Our country’s cement production is the
second-largest globally, with an overall production capacity of nearly
545 million tonnes (MT) for 2020. With the growing population, more
reliable infrastructure is becoming an absolute necessity. Apart from
that, it is an essential product that is utilised by all industries and
forms a solid backbone for advancement and acceleration of
socio-economic growth. It provides a large number of direct and indirect
employment opportunities, contributing in a big way to the GDP.
To continue this positively advancing
trajectory, one needs to consciously look out for greener alternatives
that can be easily incorporated without disrupting the system. LC3
has the potential to become a greener alternate solution that promises
sustainable growth in terms of economies, ecological stewardship,
shareholder value creation, and community well-being worldwide. It
reduces carbon dioxide emissions up to 40% as compared to ordinary
portland cement. That is possible due to the change in the composition
of the raw materials, as LC3’s primary raw material is 40–65%
clinker, 30–38% calcined clay, 15% crushed limestone, and 7% gypsum. It
utilises lower grade clay, which is usually abandoned and left to the
agents of erosion, thus creating value.
Additionally, the energy requirement for
calcination in LC3 production is half of what is needed to
manufacture ordinary cement. Because of the softer nature of materials,
necessary power required for grinding is reduced, making it more
cost-effective to produce. It is a development that could gain momentum
quickly due to high availability of limestone and low-grade clay in
India. It does not require capital-intensive modification in existing
plants. The accompanying graph visualises the production trend for
different varieties of cement, along with the introduction of LC3
in 2025.
![](Image/pg3-3.jpg)
Source: Author’s analysis
At the 26th
Conference of Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow in late 2021, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi promised that India would achieve net-zero
emission by 2070. In the meantime, our government also pledged to meet
immediate goals, which would help in facilitating the larger target.
Among the immediate goals for 2030 are receiving assistance to increase
India’s non-fossil fuel energy capacity, meeting 50% of the country’s
energy requirement through renewable, reducing CO2 emissions
by 1 billion tonnes, and bringing down the carbon intensity of India’s
economy by more than 45%. Reaching these momentous milestones would
enable India to pave a firmer path towards decarbonisation. It would
eventually lead India to emerge as a world leader, not just in taking
action but also in creating technology and finding low-cost alternatives
for the adaptation-related issue, which is looming today.
Keeping in
mind the points mentioned above and our team’s progress with LC3,
we at Development Alternatives approached the Director of the Ministry
of Mines, Vivek Kumar Sharma. Our discussion there was extensive, and we
gained insights into the organisation’s working.
While LC3
is our best possible alternative to mitigate emissions, its large-scale
adoption is highly dependent on how the governmental nodal organisations
incorporate it into various policies not only to make it mandatory for
the cement manufacturers but also to increase its social acceptance. For
increasing awareness and social acceptance of alternative cement,
government infrastructure and public sector undertaking (PSUs) would be
ideal testing grounds. That can provide impetus to the public at large
to adopt such greener alternatives. Supporting the transition of
domestic cement manufacturing to low-carbon cement would ensure that the
sector would keep 0.54 million jobs in 2050 and zero import dependency
on the limestone imports (Biswas, Ganesan, & Ghosh 2019).
References:
-
Biswas, T.,
Ganesan, K., and Ghosh, A. 2019. CEEW. Accessed on 25 March, 2022 at
at https://www.ceew.in/sites/default/files/CEEW%20-%20Sustainable%20manufacturing%20in%20a%20low
carbon%20economy%2024Sep19.pdf
-
Thomas, E.
2020. World cement. Accessed on 25 March, 2022 at
https://www.worldcement.com/indian-subcontinent/13012020/india-cements-its-future/
Sumedha Singh
ssingh2@devalt.org
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