State-owned Coal India Ltd. (CIL) has started the pilot project to replace Diesel with LNG on September 1, 2021.

• According to CIL, it started the process of retrofitting LNG kits in its dumpers, the big trucks that are engaged in transportation of coal.
• This move will help CIL to save around Rs 500 crore annually.
• This pilot project will also help in reducing its carbon footprint.

This move is significant because, CIL (world’s largest coal miner) uses more than 4 lakh kilolitres of diesel per annum which amounts to the annual expense of Rs 3,500 crores. Operations of the dumpers will be significantly cheaper and cleaner because of LNG. LNG will replace the use of diesel by 30% to 40% and in turn reduce the fuel cost by 15%.

CIL has taken up the pilot project for retrofitting LPG kits in the two 100 tonne dumpers, in association with GAIL (India) Ltd. and BEML Ltd. Both of the dumpers are working at CIL subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL). For this project, CIL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GAIL and BEML on August 31, 2021.

Once the LNG kit is retrofitted and tested successfully, both the dumpers will be able to run on dual fuel systems, that is, on LNG as well as Diesel.

CIL is government-owned coal mining and refining corporation, under the ownership of Ministry of Coal. It is headquartered in Kolkata. It is the largest coal-producing company worldwide and a Maharatna public sector undertaking. CIL is also the fifth largest employer in India.