Coal India has announced plans to invest Rs 19 billion in research and development by fiscal year 2030 to improve mine productivity, reduce emissions and support India’s energy transition.
The company said the funding will be directed toward commercialising cleaner coal technologies, advancing net-zero solutions, enabling mine repurposing and improving the recovery of critical minerals through collaboration with research institutions.
In a regulatory filing, Coal India said its R&D programme accelerated in 2024-25 with the launch of the National Centre for Coal and Energy Research, or NaCCER, based on a hub-and-spoke model. The company said work has moved beyond proof of concept to prototype development at Technology Readiness Levels of four and above.
NaCCER will oversee projects carried out by scientific institutions and coordinate Centres of Excellence focused on pilot-scale research. The strategy is aimed at demonstrating prototypes that can later be scaled across Coal India’s operations.
The company’s research spending has risen sharply. Expenditure increased four-fold to Rs 2.45 billion in 2024-25 from Rs 0.61 billion in 2023-24. Currently, 19 R&D projects with a combined outlay of Rs 2.25 billion are being executed under NaCCER’s oversight. Another 13 projects involving pilot-scale research and prototype development are underway at Centres of Excellence in multiple cities.
Coal India said the spending pattern reflects a shift from early-stage research to applied development.
The programme also includes international partnerships. Coal India is collaborating with Canada’s Ergo Exergy on an underground coal gasification project at Eastern Coalfields Limited, working with Sweden’s Ericsson to deploy 5G technologies at the Jhanjra underground mine, and conducting joint research with Australia’s CSIRO.
Coal India accounts for more than 80 percent of India’s domestic coal output. The company said the R&D programme is intended to help adapt its asset base to changing energy markets while supporting cleaner operations.
