The Ministry of Coal hosted a BRICS Side Event on Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) with a special focus on Coal Gasification, which was attended by top government officials, public sector enterprises, industry leaders, technology providers and delegations from Russia, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The occasion highlighted India's approach to harness cleaner coal technologies for enhancing energy security and industrial growth.

Sanoj Kumar Jha, Additional Secretary (Coal), gave the keynote address focusing on the importance of coal gasification as a transition technology. He said that the gasification process is used to convert coal into synthesized gas (syngas) for producing ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, synthetic fuel, direct reduced iron (DRI) and other valuable products. This can help substantially reduce India's dependence on imports while ensuring optimum utilization of indigenous coal resources, he added.

In this regard, Jha reiterated the Government of India's commitment and the national goal of achieving 100 million tonnes of coal gasification by 2030. He elaborated on the policy and financial framework for this objective, such as guaranteed coal linkages, financial incentives, and a coordinated inter-ministerial approach. He also urged greater cooperation between the BRICS nations to build synergy in the fields of innovation and implementation of clean coal technologies.

Presentations were made at the conference by BHEL on coal gasification technology, and Jindal Steel Limited and Greta Energy on the basis of their project experience relevant to the BRICS countries. Progress on the Kasta Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) pilot project was reported by Eastern Coalfields Limited, and the Nominated Authority presented information about coal block allocation and policy related to UCG. Coal India Limited (CIL) demonstrated its coal linkage scheme and gasification plans.

The issues related to technology readiness, economics of the project, geological and processing considerations, use of high ash Indian coal, and support for scaling up through policies and finances were deliberated upon in the interactive panel session.

Overall, the BRICS side event became a platform for knowledge sharing and exchange, and the coal gasification technology became the means to achieve cleaner use of coal, industrial development, and energy security of the BRICS nations.