Coal India Limited (CIL) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) for establishing a Centre of Clean Coal Energy and Net Zero (CLEANZ) at Hyderabad.
This is aimed at developing clean coal technologies and diversification in coal utilisation. “Both the entities will synergize their efforts in developing cutting edge technology readiness level for sustainable utilisation of Indian coal. This is in line with the country’s Net Zero commitments,” an official statement said.
The Union Coal Ministry has been promoting development of research capabilities in coal sector. The MoU was formally signed by P M Prasad, Chairman, CIL and Prof. B S Murty, Director, IIT-H in the presence of G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Coal & Mines, here on Friday.
According to the statement CIL’s management has green flagged a grant of ₹98 crore to IIT-H for a duration of five years for setting up this Centre of Excellence, as the project is expected to become financially self-sustainable beyond the initial five year funding received from CIL.
Providing grants
The Board of CIL in July 2024 had given its nod to focus on providing grants to reputed government institutions and research organisations under R&D expenditure.
“The current collaborative model is an R&D endeavour under the umbrella of National Centre for Coal and Energy Research (NaCCER). This is an independent R&D unit of CMPDI, the mine development and consultancy arm of CIL,” the statement said.
On CLEANZ, the statement said that it envisions net zero utilisation with special emphasis on low grade and rejected coal. Areas which CLEANZ will look at are enhanced coal bed methane and coal mine methane recovery, carbon capture technologies, coal gasification and syngas utilisation, energy efficiency and conservation, artificial intelligence and machine learning among others.
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister said: “Critical minerals play a strategic role in our economy, and IIT-H is conducting cutting-edge research in this field. We, through our Ministry, will provide any necessary support.”