Coal Gasification Push Marks a Defining Moment for India’s Energy Self-Reliance: Dr. Roger Kumar, CASE Group

Faridabad, Haryana, India — September 29, 2026:describing the policy initiative as an important step toward expanding coal gasification and reducing dependence on imported energy resources. The scheme aims to support large-scale coal and lignite gasification projects and contributes to the National Coal Gasification Mission’s target of reaching 100 million tonnes of coal gasification by 2030.

Engineering Gasification Around Indian Coal

A key focus highlighted by Dr. Kumar is the need to develop gasification technologies around the characteristics of Indian high-ash coal.

India’s coal resources can have substantially higher ash content than many international coal grades. Dr. Kumar has emphasized that successful gasification therefore requires technologies and engineering solutions specifically designed for the feedstock available within India.

This approach, he notes, creates an important role for India’s domestic engineering and technology ecosystem in building scalable and commercially viable gasification solutions.

Two Complementary Applications of Coal Gasification

According to Dr. Kumar, India’s coal-gasification journey can progress through two complementary pathways:

Coal-to-Chemicals:
Gasification can be used to produce controlled syngas for applications including urea, methanol, ammonia and synthetic natural gas.

Coal-to-Thermal Energy:
Producer gas generated from coal can be used directly for industrial heating applications such as furnaces, kilns, dryers and boilers, supporting industries including steel, textiles, chemicals, ceramics, paper and food processing.

CASE Group has developed and deployed gasification technologies for industrial applications, with a focus on replacing conventional liquid and gaseous fuels with coal-derived producer gas.

CASE Group’s Industrial Experience

Dr. Kumar also highlighted CASE Group’s field experience in industrial coal gasification, including an installation at Rungta Mines Limited’s Kamanda steel plant in Odisha.

According to CASE Group, the project uses multiple gasifiers to supply heat for iron ore pellet production and has demonstrated substantial furnace-oil substitution in pelletising operations. The installation operates with high-ash coal and incorporates process-water recycling through a Zero Liquid Discharge design.

Five-Point Roadmap for Accelerating Coal Gasification

Dr. Roger Kumar has proposed a five-point roadmap for accelerating India’s coal-gasification mission:

1. Create a dedicated thermal gasification track within the National Coal Gasification Mission.
2. Develop cluster-based retrofit programmes to help industries transition from furnace oil, diesel and direct coal firing.
3. Establish national performance standards for high-ash gasification technologies covering efficiency, emissions and effluent management.
4. Improve coal access and financing for smaller and mid-sized industrial users.
5. Create an industry–academia–government knowledge platform to consolidate field experience and research related to Indian coal gasification.

Building a More Self-Reliant Energy Future

The increasing policy focus on coal gasification provides an opportunity to combine India’s domestic coal resources, engineering capabilities and industrial experience to develop scalable energy solutions.

For CASE Group, this direction aligns with its long-standing work in coal gasification technologies for industrial applications and its broader objective of supporting energy efficiency, fuel substitution and indigenous engineering solutions.

Dr. Kumar believes that a coordinated approach covering both coal-to-chemicals and coal-to-thermal applications can help accelerate the development of India’s gasification ecosystem.

CASE Group remains committed to developing and deploying advanced coal gasification technologies that support industrial energy efficiency and India’s journey toward greater energy self-reliance.