This call invites proposals for pre-pilot technology feasibility studies aimed at decarbonizing the steel and cement sectors in India, under the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP). This initiative is part of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) and seeks to foster collaboration between Indian and Swedish entities.

Background and Objectives

The India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP) was launched at COP28 in 2023 to realize pilot low-carbon projects in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and cement across India. The ITP aims to contribute to an overall enabling environment for industry transition efforts. The partnership focuses on strengthening the institutional framework, unlocking conditions for technology demonstration projects, fostering innovation, research and development, and mobilizing finance and investments.

The ITP consists of five working groups: steel, cement, innovation, carbon markets, and finance. The working groups facilitate Industry-Academia collaboration, Technology development & Feasibility studies, demonstration projects, and supporting policy processes. The target outcomes are to be announced with tangible results at COP30 in Brazil, in November 2025.

The Working Group on Innovation, co-chaired by DST (India) and SEA (Sweden), aims to unlock conditions for technology demonstration projects through feasibility projects. This call will support Technology Feasibility studies and pre-pilot projects on Steel and Cement, with selected projects to be announced at COP 30.

Call Details and Structure

This call is operationalized as two individual calls, one by the SEA and one by the DST India, but is envisioned to be practically coordinated as a single Joint call. The SEA and DST India will ensure Joint support for selected feasibility studies, pre-pilot projects. Hence the evaluation and selection process will be coordinated between the two sides.

The SEA call for proposals has been opened on 25th April 2025, inviting Swedish companies & research organizations to apply along with Indian partners, for pre-pilot activities. The overall budget outlined in this call for proposals from Swedish side is SEK 10 million (approx. INR 9 Crore) in total, which SEA will provide for Swedish applicants.

The CEST Division of DST proposes a parallel call for proposals with aligned objectives, scope, and evaluation criteria. The Indian call aims to provide support funding to Indian applicants by DST, in tandem with the funding provided to Swedish applicants by SEA Sweden.

Eligibility Criteria for Indian Participants

Proposals must be submitted in consortium mode only, comprising Steel and Cement Industry and Academia/Researchers. The consortium should be led by a relevant Industry partner, in collaboration with faculty or scientists holding regular positions in recognized academic institutions or publicly funded R&D institutions/laboratories. Participation of relevant Steel and Cement Industries and PSUs is mandatory.

• Participating Indian companies must be incorporated in India under the Companies ACT 1956/2013.

• They must have at least 51% stake of the Company owned by Indian Citizens living in India.

• Companies must have been in operation for at least 3 financial years before the closing date for the application.

Indian Companies need to provide audited copies of their submitted annual accounts for the last three years. They also need to provide details of Expertise and technical resources for the project. Sole proprietors and partnership firms are not eligible for support under this call.

Funding and Project Duration

The DST Budget for Indian Participants is Rs. 9 Crores. The maximum Budget for Indian participants should not be more than Rs. 4.5 Crore per project. The budget should include Non-recurring (Capital Items) and Recurring Items (General) with proper justification for each partner separately and in total as per the Proposal Format provided.

The funds for the industry will be routed through the Participating Academic/ R&D institution/Laboratory. The project duration is 3 years maximum.

The DST will share information about the SEA call for proposals on its social media channels, and SEA will share information about the DST call for proposals on its website and social media channels. LeadIT secretariat will support sharing of information on both the calls on their website and social media channels.

Timeline and Submission Details

The Call Opening Date for Indian Participants is 25th June 2025. The Deadline for submission of proposals is 1st September 2025. Proposals may be submitted at DST e-PMS (https://onlinedst.gov.in/Login.aspx) portal in the prescribed format along with other requisite documents before the closing date of the call.

The Indian lead will submit the proposal on the DST e-PMS portal, and the Swedish lead will submit the same proposal on the SEA portal. Only proposals submitted on both portals will be considered by DST for evaluation.

For any queries, applicants can contact the provided contact persons at the Climate, Energy and Sustainable Technology Division (CEST) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST).