The Ministry of Coal has announced that Coal India Limited (CIL) is moving beyond conventional mining to build a business spanning energy generation, mineral extraction, advanced materials and research. The company is developing technology-focused projects worth approximately ₹69,346 crore across coal gasification, power generation, renewable energy storage and critical minerals, alongside a framework to manage research and innovation across multiple institutions.
What CIL is Building
CIL’s diversification strategy centres on five platforms. Under coal-to-chemicals, the company is developing four major projects: Talcher Fertilizers (₹19,062.22 crore) producing 1.27 million tonnes per annum of urea; Bharat Coal Gasification producing 0.66 million tonnes per annum of ammonium nitrate (₹25,015.89 crore); Coal Gas India producing 633.6 million cubic metres per year of synthetic natural gas (₹13,052.81 crore); and a CIL-BPCL joint effort also producing synthetic natural gas (₹12,214.86 crore). An underground coal gasification pilot is underway at Kasta West in Eastern Coalfields, with Phase I completed in May 2025 and Phase II continuing through 2026.
In power generation, CIL and the Damodar Valley Corporation are building a 2×800 MW ultra-supercritical thermal plant at Chandrapura, Jharkhand through a 50-50 partnership. The company has already commissioned approximately 550 MW of solar capacity and is developing a 20 MW floating solar project at Chilwa Taal in Gorakhpur. For energy storage, CIL is developing battery systems totalling 187.5 MW capacity in Telangana and 80 MW across four locations in Odisha.
On critical minerals, CIL is developing graphite assets in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and pursuing rare earth and rare-metal opportunities in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, working with Indian Rare Earths Limited and other technical partners.
For research, CIL has allocated ₹231 crore across 20 projects and is funding four Centres of Excellence at IIT institutions. Spending on R&D was ₹183.88 crore in FY 2025–26, with planned increases to ₹500 crore by FY 2029–30. Recent achievements include five patent filings and one granted patent for bifacial perovskite solar cells.
What This Means for You
These projects aim to reduce India’s imports of chemicals, minerals and advanced materials while creating manufacturing capacity within the country. The battery and renewable energy components support India’s transition away from coal dependence in electricity generation. The research initiatives with IITs and other institutions may lead to homegrown technologies that reduce reliance on foreign expertise and equipment in energy and materials sectors.