New Delhi:The coal ministry on Tuesday said that state-owned CIL has recently begun the process of retrofitting liquefied natural gas kits in its dumpers - big trucks engaged in the transportation of coal in mines, a move that will further reduce the company's carbon footprint.
The statement assumes significance in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stating that India will reach its net-zero carbon emission target by 2070, as he laid out the country's climate action plan.
"In order to further reduce carbon footprint, Coal India Ltd (CIL), Ministry of Coal has recently initiated the process of retrofitting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) kits in its dumpers," according to an official statement.
CIL, the world's largest coal miner, uses over 4 lakh kilolitres of diesel per annum with an expense of over Rs 3,500 crore.
The company in association with GAIL (India) Ltd and BEML Ltd has taken up a pilot project for retrofitting LNG kits in its two 100 tonne dumpers operating at the subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) under an MoU with GAIL and BEML.
Once the LNG kit is successfully retrofitted and tested, these dumpers will be able to run on dual fuel systems and their operations will be significantly cheaper and cleaner with the use of LNG.