Gadkari asks for production of methanol from coal

Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has asked industry players, like Larsen & Toubro and Thermax, to explore the possibilities of producing green fuels like methanol from high-ash coal.

Chairing a high-level meeting on Monday, Gadkari also emphasised the need for use of agricultural produce and solid waste for methanol-production, while saying methanol production from coal will be cost-effective.

A pilot project to produce methanol from coal is running at Talcher in Odisha.

In the meeting, which was attended by former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat, among others, Gadkari asked global players like Volvo and Stena Lines if they could run an automobile and shipping fleet on methanol, officials said.

He has also asked government think tank Niti Aayog to study automobile specifications that China has developed for running its fleet on ethanol.

The Aayog has constituted three expert groups, one each for the production, utilisation, and research and development of methanol.

As per the presentation by Niti Aayog, methanol is a very promising fuel for waterways as it is clean, can be a good substitute for heavy fuels and can be effective not only in cutting down imports, but also in checking pollution.