Iceland courts India for geothermal, CCUS, ‘carbon-to-stone’ technologies

Iceland is confident about the opportunities emerging in India’s evolving geothermal energy landscape and believes regulatory challenges can be overcome, Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson, Iceland’s Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate, told The Hindu on the sidelines of his visit to New Delhi.

“It (potential challenges originating from India’s regulatory framework) is something that can be overcome”, he said, adding that Iceland has the legal expertise to support countries in developing regulatory frameworks needed to scale up geothermal energy.

Separately, Mr. Jóhannsson expressed confidence in India’s carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) landscape, pointing to potential opportunities for Reykjavík to deploy its “tried and tested” technology, Carbfix, which converts captured carbon dioxide into stone.

Iceland bullish on India’s geothermal potential

Mr. Jóhannsson said Iceland has built considerable technical expertise in geothermal energy and wants to export that knowledge to countries such as India, where he sees “large, untapped potential”.

Iceland generates around 70% of its electricity from hydropower and the remaining 30% from geothermal sources. India, meanwhile, has an estimated geothermal potential of about 10.6 GW, according to government data.

Mr. Jóhannsson noted that New Delhi is also committed to expanding geothermal energy, pointing specifically to the National Policy on Geothermal Energy.

“I am very optimistic and I think a partnership between Iceland and India can be a source of strength when it comes to developing this further,” he said.

Iceland is also venturing into what Mr. Jóhannsson described as “next-generation geothermal utilisation”. The technology involves drilling deeper into the earth, potentially increasing the productivity of each borehole by about ten times.

“For a populous country like India, this can be a gamechanger if we can harness the technology,” he said.

Steel, cement could benefit from Carbfix

Mr. Jóhannsson also highlighted Iceland’s Carbfix technology, which converts carbon dioxide into stone through a process that permanently mineralises the captured CO₂.

He said the technology could be particularly useful for sectors such as cement and steel in India.

“It is a tried and tested technology, but we [Iceland] have yet to scale it up and are a small country. Thus, a collaboration with a large nation such as India could offer great opportunities for both of us,” he said.