<p>Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has asked industry players, like Larsen & Toubro and Thermax, to explore the possibilities of producing green fuels like methanol from high-ash coal.<br /><br />Chairing a high-level meeting on Monday, Gadkari also emphasised the need for use of agricultural produce and solid waste for methanol-production, while saying methanol production from coal will be cost-effective. <br /><br />A pilot project to produce methanol from coal is running at Talcher in Odisha.<br /><br />In the meeting, which was attended by former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat, among others, Gadkari asked global players like Volvo and Stena Lines if they could run an automobile and shipping fleet on methanol, officials said.<br /><br />He has also asked government think tank Niti Aayog to study automobile specifications that China has developed for running its fleet on ethanol.<br /><br />The Aayog has constituted three expert groups, one each for the production, utilisation, and research and development of methanol.<br /><br />As per the presentation by Niti Aayog, methanol is a very promising fuel for waterways as it is clean, can be a good substitute for heavy fuels and can be effective not only in cutting down imports, but also in checking pollution.</p>
<p>Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has asked industry players, like Larsen & Toubro and Thermax, to explore the possibilities of producing green fuels like methanol from high-ash coal.<br /><br />Chairing a high-level meeting on Monday, Gadkari also emphasised the need for use of agricultural produce and solid waste for methanol-production, while saying methanol production from coal will be cost-effective. <br /><br />A pilot project to produce methanol from coal is running at Talcher in Odisha.<br /><br />In the meeting, which was attended by former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat, among others, Gadkari asked global players like Volvo and Stena Lines if they could run an automobile and shipping fleet on methanol, officials said.<br /><br />He has also asked government think tank Niti Aayog to study automobile specifications that China has developed for running its fleet on ethanol.<br /><br />The Aayog has constituted three expert groups, one each for the production, utilisation, and research and development of methanol.<br /><br />As per the presentation by Niti Aayog, methanol is a very promising fuel for waterways as it is clean, can be a good substitute for heavy fuels and can be effective not only in cutting down imports, but also in checking pollution.</p>
