Experts seek faster roll-out of coal gasification projects

Though capital-intensive, this route allows strategic resource use, serves as crisis buffer

- SURYA SARATHI RAY

WITH STEEL, CHEMICALS & fertilisers, ceramics, glass, and various other industries reeling under inadequate gas availability, experts have called for fast-tracking coal gasification projects to boost domestic availability of the material that is both a fuel and feedstock for multiple industries.

India has the world's fourth-largest coal deposits, which serve as a significant lever for managing global energy supply shocks like the present one. The Indian government has set a target of 100 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity by 2030, aiming to reduce the country’s reliance on imports of natural gas and other critical items such as methanol and ammonia, and curb emissions. It approved an outlay of $8,500 crore in 2024 as a financial incentive to promote coal/lignite gasification projects for both government PSUs and the private sector.

However, progress toward the goal has been slow, primarily due to technological and economic constraints, with major projects still in the planning or pilot stages. “Only a handful of commercial-scale projects are moving forward,’ experts said, adding that the high ash content of Indian coal is a major hindrance, as it is not suitable for many available global gasifica-tion technologies.