Coal India Expands into Renewables, Storage, Critical Minerals

Coal India Ltd (CIL) is expanding its business beyond conventional coal mining, with projects spanning coal gasification, thermal power, renewable energy, battery storage, critical minerals, advanced materials and research and development.

According to the Ministry of Coal, CIL’s business development portfolio is built around five areas viz. coal gasification and coal-to-chemicals, thermal power, renewable energy and storage, critical minerals and advanced materials, and diversified minerals including iron ore. The portfolio includes around INR 69,346 crore of projects across four coal-to-chemicals initiatives, a 2×800 MW ultra-supercritical expansion at Chandrapura, around 550 MW of commissioned solar capacity and grid-scale battery energy storage projects.

The company’s coal-to-chemicals portfolio comprises Talcher Fertilizers Ltd, Bharat Coal Gasification & Chemicals Ltd, Coal Gas India Ltd and a CIL-BPCL Chandrapur coal-to-SNG initiative. Their combined estimated project cost is around INR 69,346 crore.

Talcher Fertilizers has a planned capacity of 1.27 million tonnes per annum of urea, while Bharat Coal Gasification & Chemicals is planned to produce 0.66 million tonnes per annum of ammonium nitrate. The two synthetic natural gas projects each have a planned capacity of 633.6 million Nm³ a year.

CIL is also pursuing underground coal gasification at the Kasta West Block of Eastern Coalfields Ltd. The first phase was completed in May 2025, while the second phase, which began in June 2025, covers detailed engineering, directional drilling, injection and production wells, and ignition and control systems. Completion is scheduled in 2026.

In power generation, CIL and Damodar Valley Corporation are implementing a proposed 50:50 joint venture for a 2×800 MW ultra-supercritical brownfield expansion at Chandrapura in Jharkhand.

CIL has commissioned around 550 MW of solar capacity and is developing rooftop, ground-mounted, captive, interstate and market-linked projects. It is also developing a 20 MW AC grid-connected floating solar project at Chilwa Taal in Gorakhpur.

The company’s energy-storage portfolio includes a 187.5 MW/750 MWh BESS project at Choutuppal in Telangana and an 80 MW/320 MWh portfolio across four locations in Odisha. The Telangana project has been awarded to CIL, while EPC selection and long-term operation and maintenance arrangements are under way. The Odisha capacity has been secured through the Solar Energy Corporation of India, with the EPC tender issued.

CIL is also assessing opportunities in critical minerals, including graphite assets in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and rare earth element and rare-metal opportunities in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The company plans to develop an integrated graphite value chain covering mining, beneficiation, purification, spheronisation, coating and production of anode materials. In collaboration with the Non-Ferrous Technology Development Centre, it has proposed a demonstration plant for coated spherical purified graphite with a purity of at least 99.95 percent.

Alongside its business diversification, CIL is strengthening its research and development programme. Its 2026 R&D policy prioritises projects at Technology Readiness Level 4 and above, with focus areas including artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT-based smart mining, renewable energy, waste-to-wealth, alternative uses of coal, clean coal and mineral processing.

CIL’s R&D portfolio currently comprises 20 projects with an approved outlay of INR 231 crore. Its research initiatives include underground coal gasification, 5G captive networks for mines, bifacial perovskite solar cells and AI-based exploration for critical minerals.

R&D expenditure increased from INR 61.31 crore in FY2023-24 to INR 245.38 crore in FY2024-25 before standing at INR 183.88 crore in FY2025-26. Planned expenditure is INR 225 crore for FY2026-27, rising to INR 500 crore by FY2029-30.

During FY2026-27, CIL has filed five patents, with two additional patents under process, while a patent for bifacial perovskite solar cells has been granted. The company is also discussing new Centres of Excellence with IIIT Roorkee and IIT Kharagpur.

The company said that its diversification programme will follow a stage-gated approach, with technology validation, financial and technical assessment, risk management and commercial viability considered before projects are scaled up.