Coal phase-down hinges on critical mineral imports

New Delhi: Coal is expected to continue to be the backbone of the Indian energy system for the next two decades and the phase-down of the dry fuel will be heavily dependent on the import of critical minerals required for clean energy and battery storage, the Economic Survey on Monday said.

The carbon dioxide removal technologies and carbon capture utilisation and storage need to be explored to bring down the emissions from the use of coal, as per the Economic Survey 2023-24, which was tabled in Parliament.

“Coal phase-down will be heavily dependent on the import of critical minerals required for renewable energy and battery storage unless the country invests in the development of technologies based on domestically available mineral resources and those that enable the reuse, recovery, and recycling of critical minerals,” it explained.