From Pilot to Practice: Lessons from LC3 Deployment in India

This case study examines the deployment of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) in India, focusing on a commercial-scale pilot by Lodha Developers. While technical standards and commercial production have begun, the document identifies significant bottlenecks in the value chain—specifically in concrete mix optimization, ready-mix concrete (RMC) readiness, and supply chain reliability—that hinder the transition from pilot projects to mainstream adoption.

• Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) can reduce emissions by up to 40 percent compared to ordinary Portland cement by using limestone and clay to decrease the amount of carbon-intensive clinker required.
• Despite the availability of LC3 cement, a gap exists in concrete engineering; standardized mix designs for various structural applications are still under development. Developers cannot simply substitute LC3 into existing designs and must invest in optimization to address issues such as rapid slump loss (within 60 minutes) and rheological sensitivity. Lodha Developers achieved a three-hour workability window using specialized polycarboxylate ether–based dispersants and a phosphoric acid modifier.
• The supply chain for LC3 in India is currently opportunistic and lacks reliability for large-scale construction schedules. Because production often depends on aggregated demand, plants may struggle to run dedicated production days, creating uncertainty for contractors. However, the market potential is significant: LC3 could capture 15 to 50 percent of India's projected 700 million metric ton cement demand by 2035, representing 105 million to 350 million metric tons annually.
• Mainstream adoption is hindered by the fact that embodied carbon is not yet a core design or procurement parameter. There is a specific lack of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for LC3, which are the industry standard for comparing material carbon footprints. Additionally, LC3 faces regional competition from established supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) like fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), particularly in urban markets.
• To unlock scale, the document recommends a "use-case ladder" approach, prioritizing non-structural elements, roads, and infrastructure where OPC is dominant and risk is lower. It also emphasizes the need for demand aggregation through public procurement or large private-sector commitments to stabilize supply chains and justify long production runs.

APA

Pallerlamudi, S. S. H., Garg, T., & Singh, D. L. (2026). From Pilot to Practice: Lessons from LC3 Deployment in India. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/from-pilot-to-practice-lessons-from-lc3-deployment-in-india/

Chicago

Pallerlamudi, Sai Sri Harsha, Tarun Garg, and Dr. Lav Singh. From Pilot to Practice: Lessons from LC3 Deployment in India. RMI, 2026. https://rmi.org/resources/from-pilot-to-practice-lessons-from-lc3-deployment-in-india/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pallerlamudi |first1=Sai Sri Harsha |last2=Garg |first2=Tarun |last3=Singh |first3=Dr. Lav |title=From Pilot to Practice: Lessons from LC3 Deployment in India |publisher=RMI |date=22 April 2026 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/from-pilot-to-practice-lessons-from-lc3-deployment-in-india/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pallerlamudi2026from, author = {Pallerlamudi, Sai Sri Harsha and Garg, Tarun and Singh, Dr. Lav}, title = {{From Pilot to Practice: Lessons from LC3 Deployment in India}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/from-pilot-to-practice-lessons-from-lc3-deployment-in-india/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }