The Market for Jade's Clean Coal and Underground Coal Gasification Technology and Solutions

The Market for Clean Coal and Underground Coal Gasification

Summary Coal is currently a cost-effective energy resource with more than 200 years worth of known reserves Coal is the most carbon-releasing of fossil fuels and increased carbon taxes could make it prohibitively expensive For coal to have a long-term future, clean technology will be required to decarbonise the electricity production process Jade's Underground Coal Gasification ("UCG") technology and Carbon Capture and Storage ("CSS") process cost effectively reduce carbon emissions from coal by up to 70% Jade's UCG technology does not require coal miners which inturn increases safety There is a global market for Jade's technology in coal-rich nations such as Australia, China, India, Russia and the USA
The Resurgence of Coal Coal is comparatively easy and cost effective to mine and convert into electricity and consequently has seen a 25% growth in production since 2000. This growth has been in both industrialised countries such as the United States where coal accounts for more than 50% of electricity production and developing nations such as China where coal accounts for more than 80% of electricity production. With known reserves that could power these economies for more than 200 years, coal is likely to remain an important fuel for the foreseeable future.		“Coal has consistently outperformed oil and gas on an equivalent – energy basis, and despite the potential cost of carbon emisssions, coal is likely to remain the most affordable fuel for power generation in many developing and industrialised countries for several decades” *World Energy Council*
Energy Security and Climate Change Energy Security and Climate Change (global warming) dominate the energy debate in most countries; primarily how to balance the requirement for a secure energy supply to drive their economic growth whilst at the same time reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to meet current and future international carbon obligations. Coal, although currently one of the most cost effective fuels is also the most carbon-releasing and therefore could become prohibitively expensive if future global carbon-cap and trade schemes become effective. In the coming years, countries are going to have to make tough and expensive energy policy decisions and balance the cost of power production with carbon emissions.		UCG reduces coal's carbon footprint by ~25% when used with a CCGT ("combined cycle gas turbine") or up to 80% when integrated with CSS ("carbon capture and storage")
The Future of Coal Depends upon Clean Technology Standard syngas from our UCG plants can be cleaned and compressed to form a clean-diesel that can be used in transportation fuel applications. Furthermore, Jade is designing and developing oxygen-rich UCG plants which are forecast to produce purer methanol and hydrogen gases that can be used to as a feedstock to produce methanol, dimethyl ether (“DME”) and ammonia.
Emissions Reduction For coal-rich countries such as China, the United States and India to continue to use their most prevalent energy source, coal, they will have to invest in clean technology (“CleanTech”) to decarbonise their electricity production process. Jade provides two key clean technologies that decarbonise electricity production from coal: Underground Coal Gasification ("UCG") UCG is a process of extracting the energy value from coal without mining it – instead the coal is gasified in situ at high temperature and then extracted as a hydrogen and methane rich gas known as synthesis gas (“syngas”) which is converted to electricity using combined cycle gas turbines ("CCGT") which reduce carbon emissions by 20%. Carbon Capture and Storage ("CCS") This can be further enhanced through a steam reformation process; the remaining carbon dioxide can be captured from the flue gases and stored underground. The properties of the underground cavities created by the UCG processes provide a secure long-term storage facility for the captured carbon dioxide.
UCG Resolves other Coal-Related Issues Reduces SOx and NOx emissions It is cost effective to remove the sulphurous and nitrous toxins from the syngas before entering an integrated combined cycle turbine as a clean fuel Safer than Mining Mining is an incredibly dangerous occupation; the UCG process requires no miners as the coal is gasified underground and extracted as a gas and therefore requires no underground workers
Conclusion Coal will remain an important and long-term energy and fuel source in coal-rich countries, especially those such as China that has few alternative fuels. Jade Clean Coal is well positioned to enable coal to be used as a low-carbon fuel helping countries meet their energy security and climate change goals