NTPC Ltd, the country’s largest power producer, achieved a historic carbon management breakthrough when it became the world’s first to successfully convert captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) into methanol at its Vindhyachal power plant. For a public sector company, integrating captured CO₂ from flue gas with hydrogen produced by a PEM electrolyzer to create methanol is indeed a green tech wonder step into sustainable fuel production.
NTPC’s carbon capture and methanol synthesis initiative is indeed a gigantic leap in controlling greenhouse emissions in power generation toward realizing the world’s vision of carbon-free power. The CO-to-methanol project will work on indigenous catalysts for methanol synthesis, underscoring further the sustenance of the commitment taken by NTPC to supporting homegrown solutions for environmental sustainability. This is the breakthrough at Vindhyachal, where it not only demonstrates a technical feat but also becomes a landmark worldwide in the use of captured CO2 as feedstock for the production of fuel.
Apart from such pathbreaking projects, NTPC is developing numerous other green projects. It is currently engaged in R&D for Gen-4 ethanol, sustainable aviation fuel, and green areas to increase its portfolio of renewable and low-carbon products. Going one step ahead, NTPC has also anchored its aspiration in hydrogen technology. Tests of hydrogen-run buses will reportedly operate in Leh, as reported recently. All these initiatives fall in line with NTPC’s roadmap toward a sustainable energy future. The company aims to augment its renewable energy capacity and enter nuclear energy.
To mark its golden jubilee, NTPC announced a new logo that symbolizes the sustainability, growth, and continuous innovation that will accompany NTPC into the future. The company has implemented several IT applications, while CSR activities undertaken to date include the NTPC Girl Empowerment Mission, or GEM, which has helped over 10,000 girls from rural backgrounds. In this context, NTPC will empower communities and is environment-friendly.
With the coming era of cleaner energy sources in India, NTPC is well-steered to be a leader in this march. As NTPC celebrates five decades of contribution to India’s energy sector, it continues in its efforts to find new technologies for itself, increase its footprint in renewables, and power growth through innovative and sustainable solutions. The CO₂-to-methanol plant by NTPC truly manifests its strategy, which effectively proves that leading-edge technology serves to fulfill environmental responsibility in the energy sector.
Source: IANS