Impacts of seaborne trade on coal importing countries

The webinar explores the direct and indirect effects of coal-fired power generation. It summarises a report that looks at these impacts with respect to employment and the supply of reliable power generation, especially at a time of uncertainty for many coal communities and economies around the world today.

Flexibility requirements may vary between different power plants, depending on markets and economics. For some, achieving lower minimum loads is the priority while, for others, the focus is on cycling, fast start-up and rapid ramp rates. There is no ’one size fits all’ solution. This webinar describes technical means for achieving common flexibility requirements for pulverised coal fired power plants and gives examples of what has been achieved so far in countries such as Germany, Poland and India.

There is a lot of industry buzz around HELE (high efficiency low emission) technologies. These advanced coal-based systems include IGCC, polygeneration, oxyfuel combustion, supercritical CO2 and the Allam Cycle, fuel cells, chemical looping, and renewable-coal hybrids. But just how well do these technologies work? Are they close to commercial deployment? And, if not, what is needed to get them there? This webinar will summarise the latest in state-of-the-art coal-to-power technologies and will give an overview on the status of their development.

Cofiring updates

Carbon capture and storage with coal - an update

High Efficiency Low Emissions Coal Power Plants Worldwide

This webinar presents a synopsis of an ongoing study on the development and implementation of high efficiency, low emission (HELE) coal-fired technologies in Japan and South Korea, and in the wider South East Asian region.
The coal fleets of both countries are highly efficient, with the Japanese fleet reported to be the most efficient in the world and the evolution of both fleets has been modelled as in previous IEA CCC HELE studies. Both countries have proactive assisted funding programmes that enable the introduction of HELE plant to countries seeking to develop and improve their coal-fired generating capacity and these outreach activities have been studied.

In this presentation, we will concentrate on the technical means available for achieving high flexibility in coal-fired power plants. This involves providing resilience to frequent start-ups, meeting major, rapid load changes, and providing frequency control duties. Operating at widely variable output increases the wear and tear on equipment and reduces efficiency. However, potential damage mechanisms are well known, and the necessary flexibility can be achieved with acceptable impacts on component life, efficiency and emissions. Designs being developed to enable flexibility in future plants will also be outlined.

There is a lot of industry buzz around HELE (high efficiency low emission) technologies. These advanced coal-based systems include IGCC, polygeneration, oxyfuel combustion, supercritical CO2 and the Allam Cycle, fuel cells, chemical looping, and renewable-coal hybrids. But just how well do these technologies work? Are they close to commercial deployment? And, if not, what is needed to get them there? This webinar will summarise the latest in state-of-the-art coal-to-power technologies and will give an overview on the status of their development.

Our next webinar explains the mission of the IEA Clean Coal Centre and how we operate. It covers how our work ties into the UN sustainable development goals, it goes in to some detail on the topics we cover in our research, technical workshops and outreach activities.

Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) is attracting increasing interest worldwide. At present, there are a wide variety of CO2 utilisation technologies being explored, each at various stages of development and commercialisation. This webinar reviews the current state of CCU
technologies and analyses their potential environmental impacts.’

In this webinar we will consider potential uses for coal beyond power generation and steel blast furnace furnaces. There are opportunities to use coal derived feed stocks in chemicals, minerals, agriculture, new materials and pollution control. With the electrification of energy use that is projected to double by 2040 this is raising demand for new materials and minerals that can be derived from coal to support renewable energy generation and the electrification of ground transport. The problems of desertification and fresh water supply are set to increase and coal products can be used to mitigate soil erosion, improve water quality, and also reduce emission from fossil fuel power plants.

The recent discovery of new forms of carbon is leading to applications in energy storage, aerospace and composite materials. When considering new carbon-based materials a major issue is the source of carbon and whether it is suitable to use a coal feed stock, and what the effect of that is on the quality of the product and the manufacturing complexity. In addition to new applications for carbon there is an established coal to chemicals industry that provides a host of everyday products that is encountering new environmental challenges. The versatility of carbon means that this webinar will cover a broad range of topics exploring issues and opportunities for the non-energy uses of coal.

Before the price recovery in 2016, the price of internationally traded coal took a downward trend for five consecutive years, forcing coal producers to rationalise their operations. Today we see the export coal industry in a much healthier situation, with stronger prices and a lower cost base. This webinar will examine the costs of production of coal from major exporting countries around the world, and look at how cost trends have changed over the years.

Inevitably, the production of coal creates various waste streams, some of which contain enough residual coal to give them potential as sources of energy. Some types may be used directly or alternatively, reprocessed to recover their coal content. They can form low cost fuels that reduce the demand for fresh coal. Furthermore, their use helps minimise the amounts stored in dumps or settling ponds, reducing their unwanted environmental impacts.
This webinar will examine the types of wastes, the amounts generated, and their utilisation for the main coal-producing countries.

Many countries have strict emission limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and so NOx control systems are widely used on coal-fired power plants. India has recently introduced NOx emission limits so pollution control technologies will need to be installed. This webinar will review available NOx controls for coal-fired units in general. With examples of recent developments, systems that could be successfully applied in Indian power plants are identified. The challenges facing Indian utilities are also considered. The new Indian standards have created opportunities for equipment manufacturers, as well as a need for global technology leaders to modify their products to meet local market requirements, particularly high ash content coal.

This webinar will review the supply chain costs of biomass cofiring. In order for cofiring to continue to play a long-term role in a emissions reduction strategy it must be competitive with other renewable technologies in terms of cost and CO2 abatement potential. Tune in to get a better understanding of the current supply chain costs, analysis of the emissions associated with biomass utilisation and the possible effects of government policy on future deployment.

Significant areas of the world are facing a high level of water stress. This webinar will look at the the power generation industry and the challenges it is facing with water availability. Power plant operators can reduce their dependence on fresh water by using non-fresh water sources and conserving water within a power plant. The emphasis will be on the treatment of wastewater from coal-fired power plants and its reuse.

This timely webinar will review the implications of development and deployment of HELE (high efficiency, low emissions) coal power technologies. Some 40% of world power generation comes from coal, which means huge CO2 savings are possible by using HELE technologies. Therefore it is essential to support the use of more efficient coal-fired power, as it's the only realistic way to bring down CO2 emissions. The aim should be to minimise the emissions of CO2 from coal, through improvements in efficiency and the subsequent introduction of CCS.

This timely webinar will review the implications of the Minamata Convention on Mercury on coal. COP1, the 1st Conference of the Parties, of the convention was held in Geneva at the end of September. Tune in to to get a full update on the final text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and a discussion on the potential consequences for emerging economies who have a significant dependence on coal.

UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme) first raised the issue of mercury as the most important, unregulated, pollutant in the global environment in the mid 2000s and, in response, established the first INC (International Negotiating Committee) and the UNEP Partnership Areas in 2008. The IEA CCC has been lead of the Coal Partnership since its inception.

Coordinating mercury reduction programmes throughout the world will include numerous social, economic and technological challenges and will be dependent on technology transfer as well as significant international funding. By the time COP1 of Minamata eventually closed, 83 countries had signed the Minamata convention and committed to developing national implementation plans. The next step will be the acceptance of those plans and, ultimately, the movement of these plans into action.