Swadeshi coal to rescue! How Jindal Steel, Ultratech are meeting their energy needs

With the West Asia crisis posing a big energy security challenge, India Inc switched to domestic coal to meet their energy needs.   

Among the first movers was Jindal Steel Ltd. In April, the company announced that it would embrace coal gasification technology to enhance energy self-reliance and sustainable steel production.

The company has achieved a world-first by establishing India’s premier coal gasification-based Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) plant. This facility utilises syngas rather than traditional fossil fuels for iron making, according to the company.
“Syngas from swadeshi coal can replace imported methanol, ammonia, ammonium nitrate, and LNG. India must utilise its vast coal reserves to future-proof low-carbon growth and reduce forex outflow,” says PK Biju Nair, Executive Director of Jindal Steel’s facility in Angul, Odisha.

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The company has also deployed syngas in its galvanising, colour coating line furnaces, a first for the global steel industry, and has injected syngas into blast furnaces. Simultaneously, the company is working on green pathways.
Apart from steel, the West Asia conflict has also hit energy feedstock supplies for sectors such as ceramic, cement, urea and other high-heat processing units. Some companies in those sectors, too, have decided to increase the coal share in the fuel mix.

Atul Daga, Chief Financial Officer of UltraTech Cement, says the company is actively managing its fuel mix, optimising between pet coke, coal, alternative fuels, and increasing the share of domestic coal wherever required and possible.

Coal is the king

Elsewhere, too, the importance of coal is being appreciated anew. In the power sector, though India has paused the addition of thermal plant capacity, the country announced an expansion of existing thermal capacity in 2024 to meet the growing electricity demand.

India’s peak power demand touched 270 GW on May 21, an all-time record as a result of soaring temperature, compared to 243 GW peak demand in 2025.

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SB Khyalia, CEO of Adani Power, the largest private thermal power producer, says the world has come to realise that fossil fuel generated power cannot be just wished away.

“It has a crucial role to play in balancing the grid as renewable energy penetration increases. As our power needs become more intense, it is reliable and domestic energy sources like coal that come to our help and provide electricity that runs our ACs, our factories, and our data centres,” he says.

India proposes to set up an additional 100 GW coal-based capacity by 2031-32. Adani Power, Torrent Power, JSW Energy, and the state-owned NTPC have planned investments of over Rs 5.5 lakh crore.