India’s first coal to methanol pilot plant developed by BHEL inaugurated

New Delhi/Hyderabad: As part of the ongoing 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations, Union Minister for Heavy Industries Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey dedicated India's first, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) built Coal to Methanol (CTM) pilot plant, to the nation on Saturday. BHEL's Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Dr Nalin Shinghal, Ministry of Heavy Industries' Joint Secretary Jeetendra Singh, Functional Directors on the Board of BHEL and senior officials of the Ministry and BHEL were present in the virtual ceremony.

Dr Pandey also inaugurated an exhibition on 'Products Developed under Aatmanirbhar Bharat' organised at BHEL's Hyderabad unit. In addition, an audio-visual presentation was made on the 'Unsung Heroes of the Indian Freedom Struggle' belonging to the Telangana Region. BHEL employees joined the program virtually from multiple locations across the country. While participants logged in to the online event in large numbers, the event was also webcast live, where a number of employees watched the proceedings through the broadcast mode.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister said that one of the important goals of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to build a self-reliant nation. The role of the manufacturing sector will be crucial in realising this vision. The Government has already highlighted the importance of the manufacturing sector through schemes like 'Make in India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat.' The capital goods industry is the backbone of the manufacturing sector. It provides critical inputs such as machinery and equipment to a broad set of user industries. Being the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise, the role of BHEL in fulfilling the vision of the Government is of particular importance. As announced by Prime Minister in the recently concluded COP26 meeting, BHEL will have to play an important role in building an Atmanirbhar Bharat to meet India's climate commitments.

Dr Shinghal, while enumerating the initiatives undertaken by BHEL during the 'AKAM Iconic Week' celebrations, thanked the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Government for supporting BHEL on a sustained basis. Addressing the participants, he said that R&D has always been one of BHEL's core strengths and BHEL is focussed on playing a leadership role on the path to achieving PM Modi's 'Panchamrit' vision at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Notably, the 0.25 TPD capacity CTM pilot plant, indigenously designed, developed and installed by BHEL, is currently producing methanol with a purity of more than 99 percent from high ash Indian coals. Significantly, this conversion of high ash Indian coals to methanol through the gasification route is the first of its kind technology demonstration in India.

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