An indirect coal-to-liquid (CTL) project with a yearly output of 2 million tonnes in north China has been approved by the central government, showing the country's determination to scale up the CTL industry and optimize its energy mix.

According to the website of Yitai Coal Co., Ltd. in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the company has the support of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and has started preparatory work for the project.

Currently, the company has only one indirect coal liquefaction production line with a yearly output of 160,000 tonnes.

"The move shows China is speeding up its research and commercialization in the CTL industry," said Yu Guangjun, director of the economic research institute at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences.

Yu said clean coal-to-oil and coal-to-gas replacement technologies are significant to China -- which is rich in coal and gas resources but lacks oil -- both for energy security and the country's anti-pollution drive.