BHEL’s indigenously-developed Coal-to- Methanol Pilot Plant dedicated to the nation

Hyderabad, January 16, 2022

India's first coal-to-methanol (CTM) pilot plant, indigenously developed and built by the public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), was dedicated to the nation by Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey as part of the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (75th year of independence) celebrations in the country.

Nalin Shinghal, Chairman and Managing Director, BHEL, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

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 programme virtually from multiple locations across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Pandey said that one of the important goals of 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, he said.

The Minister said the government has already highlighted the importance of the manufacturing sector through schemes like Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India).

"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 our 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," he said.

Shinghal said R&D has always been one of BHEL’s core strengths and the company is focussed on playing a leadership role on the path to achieving the Prime Minister’s "Panchamrit" vision at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

The 0.25 TPD capacity CTM pilot plant, indigenously designed, developed and installed by BHEL, is currently producing methanol with purity of more than 99% from high ash Indian coals. This conversion of high-ash Indian coals to methanol through the gasification route is the first-of-its-kind technology demonstration in India, a press release from the company added.

NNN