How big is the brick kiln sector in Punjab, what does it burn, and how much energy goes into a brick?

Punjab has about 3,300 kilns across Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur and Jalandhar, making nearly 19 billion bricks a year on about 1.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent. Most use manual moulding and Bull's Trench Kilns, firing coal and biomass. That works out to roughly 79 g of oil equivalent a brick.

The sector in numbers

• About 3,300 kilns in the clusters of Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur and Jalandhar.
• Nearly 19 billion bricks a year.
• Total energy around 1.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent a year.
• Mostly manual moulding and traditional Bull's Trench Kilns, with a few zig-zag kilns.
• Coal and biomass are the main fuels.
• Mostly solid bricks, with limited resource-efficient bricks.

Who speaks for the sector

The Punjab Brick Kiln Owners Association and the All India Brick and Tile Manufacturers Federation.

What it means for a kiln owner

A lender or a buyer who asks for your footprint wants fuel in tonnes and bricks fired. Coal is the biggest line. Keep purchase bills by month and a brick count by firing.

Energy per brick, from the sector totals (estimate)

• 1.5 million toe is 1.5 billion kg of oil equivalent.
• 1.5 billion divided by 19 billion bricks = about 0.079 kg, or 79 g, per brick.
• A kiln that fires 10 lakh bricks at that average uses about 79 toe.

Rounded totals from SIDBI's assessment of the brick sector, so treat the per-brick figure as an estimate.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads coal, biomass, diesel and power bills into verified emission records for a kiln, so you can state a footprint per thousand bricks from your own documents. Verified here means rule checks passed against the evidence, not third-party assurance.

• Ludhiana brick kilns: coal and energy per brick
• Brick kilns by state: count, fuel and energy
• MSME carbon number

Sources: SIDBI, ESIA and ESMP for direct financing, brick kiln sector

Last reviewed 2026-11-04.