Bridge to Energy Security and a Low-Carbon Future
When deliberating the creation of an energy-secure India, the narrative often revolves around two contrasting factors: the country's traditional dependence on coal, and its ambitious drive for clean, renewable energy. But for a nation of more than 1.4 billion people, a more nuanced approach is required — one that maintains a fine balance between economic growth and India's global climate commitments. This is the argument set out by Ratul Puri, Chairman of Hindustan Power, in a recent essay for Hindustan Times.
Coal gasification offers a realistic energy transition strategy spanning the gap between intense industrial growth and a low-carbon future.
The Gap Renewables Cannot Yet Close
Solar and wind energy continue to set new growth benchmarks, but a segment of the industrial equation remains unaddressed. Agriculture, heavy manufacturing and chemical refineries cannot operate efficiently on solar power alone, because these sectors require very high process temperatures. Compounding the problem, most clean energy components are imported, leaving the country exposed to trade disputes, geopolitical flashpoints and global market disruptions.
It is against this backdrop that India's historical asset — coal — needs to be re-examined. The country's coal reserves are estimated at almost 400 billion tonnes, among the world's largest. Coal still accounts for roughly 55% of India's energy mix and close to 74% of its electricity generation, with annual demand of around one billion tonnes expected to rise significantly by 2047. Even so, India continues to make steady progress towards its net-zero commitment for 2070.
What Coal Gasification Actually Does
Gasification transforms solid coal into synthetic gas, or syngas — a blend of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. Rather than burning coal completely, the process reacts it at extremely high temperatures with a limited amount of steam and oxygen inside a sealed reactor.
The Union minister for coal and mines has noted that gasification will be crucial in supporting energy security, curbing imports and boosting industrial growth. With an overall investment exceeding ₹85,000 crore, India is targeting a coal gasification capacity of 100 million tonnes by 2030.
Syngas as an Industrial Building Block
Syngas is not simply another fuel. It is a feedstock for value-added industry:
- Agriculture — processed into ammonia, and then into affordable domestic urea fertilisers.
- Transport — converted to methanol for fuel blending, reducing oil imports.
- Manufacturing — supplying key chemicals used in paints, plastics and pharmaceuticals.
The strategic case is significant. Around 83% of crude oil, 50% of natural gas and more than 90% of fertilisers and methanol are currently imported. The coal gasification mission could potentially save the country ₹60,000 to ₹90,000 crore annually through import substitution, while creating a low-carbon chemicals and fertiliser economy and protecting local supply chains from global price swings.
An Ecological Bridge, Not a Detour
Although gasification is a fossil-fuel-based process, it behaves very differently from legacy coal combustion. Because the reaction occurs within a highly controlled, sealed chemical reactor, sulphur, particulate matter and other byproducts are captured far more easily and efficiently than they can be scrubbed from the chimneys of a conventional power plant.
Gasification also streams concentrated CO₂, which makes it well suited to Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). Captured carbon can be stored safely deep underground or reused to make commercial products such as solid carbonates and synthetic fuels. Combined with carbon management and the integration of biomass into gasification reactors, the net carbon footprint of India's heavy industries can be meaningfully reduced.
Coal's Changing Role
Converting coal into value-added industrial products helps safeguard the nation's critical manufacturing base while advancing the Make in India mission. For Ratul Puri, the future of coal in India now transcends its role of fuelling traditional power grids. Instead, it is about powering a self-reliant, well-diversified industrial ecosystem — one that keeps India energy-secure, increasingly competitive and progressively greener in the global enterprise landscape.
Read alongside his work on reliable power delivery and flexibility in the grid, the message is consistent: the transition is a system-wide undertaking, not a single technology choice.