Energy and environment solutions provider Thermax is targeting to build its first commercial-scale coal gasification plant in the range of 100 to 500 tonne per day (tpd). The company has developed its coal gasification technology and built a pilot-scale plant in Pune, Maharashtra to demonstrate it.

The technology is estimated to require an investment of around Rs 20,000 crore. With this, the firm seeks to commercialise coal gasification technology. Earlier, Thermax was in talks with several industrial customers in the steel industry who were interested in implementing this in-house solution.

In addition, the company was considering producing chemicals from high-ash coal such as methanol, ethanol, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, olefins, and other value-added chemicals.

The new gasification method is appropriate for high-ash (30-50 percent ash) Indian coal. It is positioned as an option for hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, and it will help in the transition to low-carbon steel production.