IIT, Hyderabad, joins hands with Coal India to develop clean coal tech

CIL has green-flagged a grant of Rs 98 cr to IITH for a duration of five years for setting up Centre of Excellence on the institute’s campus

New Delhi: State-owned CIL on Friday said it has entered into a pact with the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, to develop clean coal technologies.

Coal India Ltd (CIL) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) for establishing a Centre of Clean Coal Energy and Net Zero (CLEANZ) at Hyderabad, the PSU said in a statement.

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CIL’s management has green-flagged a grant of Rs 98 crore to IITH for a duration of five years for setting up this Centre of Excellence. It is anticipated that the project will be financially self-sustainable beyond the initial five-year funding received from CIL.

Both entities will synergise their efforts in developing cutting-edge technology readiness levels for sustainable utilisation of domestic coal. This is in line with the country’s Net Zero commitments, the statement said.

CIL’s board last year gave its nod to focus on providing grants to reputed government institutions and research organisations under research and development (R&D) expenditure. The objective is to enhance research capabilities and establishment of Centres of Excellence.

“The current collaborative model is an R&D endeavour under the umbrella of the National Centre for Coal and Energy Research (NaCCER). This is an independent R&D unit of CMPDI, the mine development and consultancy arm of CIL,” the statement said.

The pact was formally signed, in the presence of Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy, by CIL Chairman PM Prasad and IIT-H Director BS Murty.