Australian National Low Emissions Coal
Research & Development
2011-2012 Funding Round Latest Update
Successful applicants have been invited to submit detailed applications.
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Research
The principal alternatives for continued use of Australia’s coal resources while meeting future CO2 emission targets are:
- Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle with Carbon Capture and Storage and
- Pulverized Coal combustion, either with Post Combustion Capture or Oxy-Fuel.
These technologies are collectively termed Low Emission Coal Technology (LECT).
None of these technologies has yet been widely deployed at commercial scale. PC (without carbon capture) dominates both the world and Australian coal based power generation industries.
The proposed R&D program has the primary objective of providing the data, knowledge and capability to allow rapid and low risk implementation of LECT with CCS under Australian conditions.
Benefits of this R&D will include:
- Reduced cost and time required for project developers to take a project to pre-FEED status.
- Reduced cost and time required in permitting of projects.
- Reduced financing risk through increased knowledge and data available to owners & bankers engineers.
- Reduced capital and operating cost and increased operating flexibility through tailoring of plant specifically for Australian fuels, market requirements and environmental conditions.
- Reduced risks involved in using Australian fuels in commercial LECT systems, thereby supporting future marketability of those fuels.
- Improved plant reliability and availability.
- Evaluation of options for step changes in cost and efficiency from second generation technologies.
ANLECR&D will focus on accelerating the feedback between the early demonstration projects and the applied technology R&D, thereby mitigating risk and accelerating the technology development cycle. The ANLECR&D focus within the classic technology development pathway is illustrated with the following diagram.
The R&D will be conducted across 7 key program areas: