Coal India to invest around Rs 1,900 crore in research and development by FY30
New Delhi, June 30
State-owned Maharatna company Coal India Limited on Tuesday said it plans to invest around Rs 1,900 crore in research and development activities by FY30 as it steps up efforts to drive technological innovation and support the evolving energy landscape.
In an exchange filing, the coal mining major stated that it has intensified R&D initiatives with the establishment of the National Centre for Coal and Energy Research (NaCCER) in FY2024-25, marking a key milestone.
The centre follows a hub-and-spoke model and is aimed at accelerating prototype development and technology deployment.
"We intend to shift R&D to a higher orbit to drive the company's future growth and technological transformation," a senior CIL official said.
The company said its R&D expenditure increased multifold to Rs 245 crore in FY2024-25 from Rs 61 crore in the previous financial year. CIL has also formulated a comprehensive R&D policy to create a structured innovation framework.
To strengthen industry-academia collaboration, Coal India has established three Centres of Excellence (CoEs) at premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) -- IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.
In addition, the company has committed Rs 253 crore -- to be released in phases -- for these centres.
Moreover, 19 R&D projects worth Rs 225 crore are currently being executed by leading scientific institutions under the direct oversight of NaCCER, according to the filing.
Additionally, 13 pilot-scale research and prototype development projects are underway at the CoEs.
The research spans strategic areas such as clean coal technologies, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, coal gasification, recovery of rare earth elements and critical minerals, sustainable materials, circular economy, environmental remediation, wastewater treatment and advanced mining technologies.
Coal India has also entered into international collaborations with Ergo Exergy of Canada for an underground coal gasification project, Ericsson of Sweden for deploying 5G technologies at its Jhanjra underground mine, and Australia's CSIRO to advance collaborative research, it added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Finally seeing some concrete steps toward coal gasification and rare earth recovery. These are critical for India's energy security. Collaborations with IITs and international partners like CSIRO are promising. Let's hope the 1900 crore is spent wisely and transparently.
Interesting to see a coal company investing in 5G and advanced mining tech. The Ericsson partnership for underground mine connectivity could improve safety and efficiency. Just wondering if this is enough to transition to renewables eventually.
Excellent move! 💪 India needs to be self-reliant in coal technology. The jump from 61 crore to 245 crore in R&D spending shows serious intent. But we need more focus on reducing emissions from coal plants, not just extracting more coal.
I remember when Coal India used to be criticised for lack of innovation. Now they are partnering with IITs, CSIRO and setting up research centres. This is the kind of transformation Indian PSUs need. Jai Hind 🇮🇳
The focus on carbon capture and environmental remediation is encouraging. But 1900 crore over 5 years for R&D seems modest for a company with such large revenues. They should allocate more if they want to lead in clean coal tech globally.
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