Clean coal
The production of electricity from coal is the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the coal supply chain. Greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of Rio Tinto Coal Australia's (RTCA) product are approximately 50 times more than the emissions that result from mining, processing and transporting the coal.
RTCA's objective is to actively research and promote technologies that reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the use of coal.
Our Climate Change Action Plan outlines support for a range of programmes that aim to support the research, development and deployment of low emission coal technologies (often referred to as "clean coal"). These programmes include:
- Research to identify new technologies
- Technology upgrades to improve the way coal is burned
- Supporting a policy environment to enable the deployment of low emissions coal technologies.
Independent research indicates "cost effective, large scale CO2 capture and storage is the key technology requirement" (Batelle, 2006).
Programmes currently supported include:
• COAL21, an initiative of the Australian Coal Association. The initiative is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions arising from the use of coal in electricity generation in Australia. It is a collaborative, consensus building programme involving participants from federal and state governments, the coal and electricity industries and research organisations.
• Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP). Australian black coal producers contribute to a program of collaborative research that is conducted for the benefit of the coal mining industry. Coal producers have committed to pay five cents per tonne of product coal to fund the program. ACARP's mission is to research, develop and demonstrate technologies that lead to the safe, sustainable production and utilisation of coal. One project is aiming to develop a better method for estimating fugitive emissions from open cut mining including coal bed methane.
• The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) conducts research and development into carbon capture technologies and the geological aspects of carbon storage technologies. The CO2CRC Otway Project, Victoria is Australia's first demonstration of the deep geological storage, or geosequestration, of CO2. The project is due to commence injection of 100,000 tonnes of CO2 from a nearby gas well, initially into a depleted gas field at a depth of two kilometres. A major program of monitoring and verification has also been implemented.
• Hydrogen Energy, a joint venture between BP and Rio Tinto, formed to develop decarbonised energy projects around the world. The venture is initially focusing on hydrogen-fuelled power generation, using fossil fuels and carbon capture and storage technology to produce new large-scale supplies of clean electricity. Hydrogen Energy's initial projects will combine a number of existing technologies in a unique way to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power generation by some 90 per cent when compared with existing plants.
• Centre for Low Emission Technology (cLET) is a partnership between the State of Queensland, CSIRO, ACARP, energy producers and the University of Queensland. It aims to facilitate the research, development and demonstration of innovative and cost-effective enabling technologies for clean coal use that, when combined with CO2 capture and storage, will dramatically reduce emissions.
• In 2007 Rio Tinto participated as a member of the World Coal Institute (WCI) Strategy Working Group and Chaired the Post 2012 Working Group. The outputs of both working groups were approved by the WCI Board in November. The WCI will implement the strategy and the paper on the Post 2012 climate change policy regime was published, distributed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali in December and will form the basis of WCI policy advocacy in this area going forwards.
