Coal India on Tuesday said it plans to invest around Rs 1,900 crore on research and development activities by FY 2030 in its efforts to increase mine productivity and cut emissions.
With this move, the company also plans to commercialise cleaner coal technologies and explore alternate energy avenues in line with the evolving energy landscape.
The company’s R&D push gained traction in 2024–25 with the launch of the National Centre for Coal and Energy Research (NaCCER), organised on a hub-and-spoke model, CIL said in a BSE filing.
Since then the company has moved beyond proof-of-concept work and is concentrating on prototype development at Technology Readiness Levels of 4 and higher. CIL’s R&D expenditure increased fourfold to Rs 245 crore in 2024-25, from Rs 61 crore in 2023-24.
At present, 19 R&D projects, with a total outlay of Rs 225 crore, are being executed by reputed scientific institutions under the direct oversight of NaCCER. In addition, 13 projects with pilot-scale research, prototype development are underway in Centres of Excellence in various cities.
The company has also entered into international collaborations with Ergo Exergy, Canada for the Underground Coal Gasification Project at Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL), Ericsson, Sweden, for implementation of 5G technologies in the Jhanjra underground mine, and CSIRO, Australia, to advance collaborative research. CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.
Also read: Coal gasification key to India's energy security: Anurag Thakur
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