Shell says it has key to clean coal

Royal Dutch Shell’s technology to turn coal into gas to fuel for power generation could allow developing countries to meet surging energy demand without a matching rise in emissions, Shell executives said. Power plants fuelled by gas made from coal using Shell’s proven technology could be 9% cheaper than conventional coal-fired boilers if both types of generation involve carbon capture and storage, the executives said. Shell is licensing clean coal technology it developed over 40 years to produce synthetic gas (syngas) from any type of coal including bituminous, sub-bituminous, lignite and anthracite. Licensing its syngas production technology and participating in research to develop coal-fuelled generation with a zero carbon footprint are part of that diversification, he said. (October 9, 2007)