Coal Without Carbon

The report argues that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is essential for mitigating global climate change given the continued reliance on coal. It identifies four critical technology areas requiring accelerated federal investment: underground coal gasification (UCG), next-generation surface coal gasification, advanced post-combustion capture (PCC), and geologic carbon sequestration (GCS). For each area, the authors provide specific RD&D roadmaps, including funding estimates and technical priorities. Key recommendations include the creation of a 'first commercial project fund' to help technologies bridge the 'Valley of Death' between pilot and commercial scale, and the establishment of international collaborations to facilitate technology transfer to countries like China and India.

• Underground coal gasification (UCG) can potentially enable electricity generation with CO2 capture at costs significantly lower than integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or conventional coal plants due to lower gas production and cleaning costs.
• The report recommends a four-year, $122 million federal RD&D effort for UCG, focusing on fundamental process understanding, a targeted field program, and the development of human capital.
• Advanced 'next generation' gasification technologies—such as Bluegas, HydroMax, and the Viresco Process—could offer step-change improvements in cost, efficiency, and fuel flexibility over current commercial systems.
• To overcome the 'Valley of Death' where pilot-scale technologies fail to reach commercialization due to high capital risks, the report proposes a self-sustaining 'first commercial project fund' as a public-private partnership.
• Post-combustion capture (PCC) is critical for the existing global fleet of coal plants, but current amine-based systems impose a significant 'efficiency penalty,' reducing a super-critical pulverized coal plant's thermal efficiency from 38.5% to 29.3%.
• The report proposes a $6 billion RD&D 'pipeline' for advanced PCC over 8-10 years, funding 50 exploratory research efforts, 30 proof-of-concept projects, 15 pilot plants, and five commercial-scale demonstrations.
• Advanced PCC research should target non-thermal regeneration methods, such as electrical swing adsorption and electrochemical methods, to minimize the energy waste associated with heating and cooling sorbents.
• Geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) in saline formations is technically feasible, with North American capacity estimated between 1,300 and 3,000 gigatonnes, but requires better predictive capacity for risk management.
• A proposed $3.2 billion four-year GCS program would prioritize hazard assessment (groundwater, geomechanics, and wellbore integrity), monitoring and verification (M&V), and the creation of an experimental test-bed.
• The report emphasizes that the U.S. must collaborate internationally, specifically with China and India, because the majority of CCS deployment must occur in those countries to meet mid-century CO2 reduction targets.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2009). Coal Without Carbon. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/21093631/Coal_Without_Carbon.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Coal Without Carbon. 2009. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/21093631/Coal_Without_Carbon.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Coal Without Carbon |date=September 2009 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/21093631/Coal_Without_Carbon.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2009coal, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Coal Without Carbon}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2009}, month = sep, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/21093631/Coal_Without_Carbon.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }