Coal India invests Rs 1,900 crore in clean tech and R&D roadmap by FY2030

tradebrains.in

by policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 points

Coal India Limited has announced a Rs 1,900 crore investment plan for research and development through FY2030, focusing on clean coal technologies, carbon capture, critical minerals, and mining automation. The company established the National Centre for Coal and Energy Research in FY25 and has already increased annual R&D spending from Rs 61 crore to Rs 245 crore. This marks a shift from capacity expansion to innovation, though thermal coal remains the core business. The roadmap includes three Centres of Excellence at IITs, 19 R&D projects, and 13 pilot-scale initiatives on clean coal and carbon capture. Coal India also posted strong financials in Q4 FY26 with revenue of Rs 46,490 crore and net profit of Rs 10,908 crore. The company is partnering with international firms like Ergo Exergy, Ericsson, and CSIRO to advance technology readiness beyond lab research.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Coal India putting Rs 1,900 crore into clean tech and R&D by 2030. They set up NaCCER and jumped R&D spend from Rs 61 crore to Rs 245 crore in one year. Worth reading for the details on carbon capture and coal gasification pilots.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The jump in R&D spend is notable but the core business is still thermal coal. The carbon capture and coal gasification projects are early stage. I want to see how much of that Rs 1,900 crore actually goes to things that reduce emissions vs just making coal extraction cheaper.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. The article mentions 13 pilot-scale projects but no timelines for commercial deployment. Carbon capture at coal plants is still expensive and unproven at scale in India. The real test is whether these pilots move to full scale before 2030.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The policy angle here is interesting. Coal India is a PSU so this R&D spend is effectively government money. If the carbon capture pilots don't lead to actual capture and storage, this is just greenwashing a coal expansion. The financials show they are still making huge profits from thermal coal.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

I would be more interested if they put money into industrial heat or building efficiency instead of trying to make coal clean. Carbon capture on coal is expensive and unproven at scale. The Rs 1,900 crore could fund a lot of heat pump installations or industrial retrofits.