CSIR-CIMFR, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), entered into an MoU with Coal Supplying Companies and Power Utilities today for the quality analysis of coal being supplied to power utilities by the coal supplying companies. This collaboration will enhance efficiency of use of coal by the power sector. Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan presided over the agreement signing ceremony along with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, while praising the efforts of CSIR, said that the Government of India, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, is guided by the ethos of transparency, quality control and a corruption-free environment. Hence, this culture will be carried forward through the research at CSIR laboratories in the field thermal energy generation as well and this agreement is the first step in this direction.

Shri Piyush Goyal emphasized on the point that India is the third largest consumer of coal globally, after China and the US, and the share of coal in its energy mix has been rising. Thermal coal accounts for around 85% of India’s coal consumption and the power sector accounts for more than 70% of India’s coal use. Moreover, high ash and moderate moisture content of Indian coal and the use of sub-critical technologies by over 90% of India’s coal-fired fleet reduces the efficiency of its power plants to a great extent.

The mandated use of super-critical technology by the upcoming coal-fired projects in India makes it necessary for the plants to run on high energy, low ash coal. In such a scenario the signing of today’s agreement assumes a lot of importance. The Minister noted that the pilot study has been going on since January this year and now a 10-year contract is being signed for future scaling up of the process.

As a part of this MoU, CSIR-CIMFR would make use of its knowledge base support in maintaining the quality of coal at national level for the entire power sector. It is estimated that about 300 million metric tons of coal samples would be analyzed for quality per year. The contract value of the project is around Rs. 250 crores per annum.

The efforts through the aforesaid project would minimize the disagreements on quality issues between coal producers and end users. The endeavor would help the nation in sustainable energy supply and security planning for future as it may reduce import of thermal coal.

CSIR-CIMFR is providing knowledge based support to the entire coal based energy chain encompassing exploration, mining and impact on the environment. Further, the laboratory is engaged in surveys of other mineral deposits and excavation for hydro-electric projects, tunnels and railways. It plays pivotal role in establishing the national coal inventory and is involved in maintaining the consistency of coal quality for power and other sectors leading to energy security and growth with high standards of safety, productivity and cleaner environment.

Other dignitaries present at the event were Dr. Girish Sahni, DG, CSIR and Secretary, DSIR, Shri Anil Swarup, Secretary, Ministry of Coal Shri Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Secretary, Ministry of Power.

Source: PIB