India's Coal Paradox: The Strategic Push for Coal Chemistry Amid a Green Transition

Main Explanatory

What is India's energy paradox?

India's energy landscape presents a paradox: the nation aggressively pursues a green transition while simultaneously relying heavily on conventional fossil fuels, particularly coal, to meet its burgeoning energy demand. Renewable energy installed capacity has surged from approximately 40 GW in 2015 to an estimated 260 GW by 2025, demonstrating a strong commitment to diversifying the energy mix (Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2026). However, India's economic development, industrialisation, and urbanisation continue to drive increased energy consumption, necessitating a balanced portfolio that includes conventional sources. This dual imperative is reflected in the country's long-term goals: energy self-reliance by 2047 and net-zero emissions by 2070. These goals require a pragmatic approach leveraging all available resources. The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) policy brief, released in May 2026, underscores this complexity. It advocates for a unified national energy framework that integrates diverse energy resources—including coal, renewables, biomass, and natural gas—to ensure adequacy, access, affordability, and appropriate sustainability (Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2026).

Why is coal chemistry gaining strategic importance?

Coal chemistry, particularly coal gasification, has gained strategic importance due to recent geopolitical events and India's persistent dependence on imported energy molecules. The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz in 2026 highlighted India's vulnerability to supply shocks, especially concerning Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) imports (Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2026). While India's refinery sector demonstrated flexibility in adapting to diverse crude oil sources, the structural problem of concentrated LPG dependence remained unaddressed. R.A. Mashelkar, a distinguished scientist and former Director General of CSIR, argues that the long-term solution to LPG vulnerability involves producing a domestic molecule for the same purpose, rather than merely refining imported ones more efficiently (Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2026).

This domestic alternative is Dimethyl Ether (DME), a clean-burning gas chemically similar to LPG, which can be produced through coal gasification. India possesses large coal reserves, providing an abundant raw material for this process. The Bureau of Indian Standards has approved blending up to 20% DME with LPG, facilitating its integration into the existing energy infrastructure (Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2026). An industry assessment projects that a 20% DME blend from coal gasification could displace approximately 6.3 million tonnes of LPG imports annually, leading to foreign exchange savings of nearly ₹34,000 crore per year (Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2026). This potential for reducing import dependence positions coal chemistry as a key component of India's energy security strategy.