Shell Gasification Technology Licensed for UK Clean Coal Power and CO2 Sequestration Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Shell's (NYSE:RDS.B) (The Hague, Netherlands) proprietary coal gasification technology has been licensed for use in Powerfuel’s 900 MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power station at Hatfield in South Yorkshire, England. Powerfuel (Hatfield, United Kingdom) is controlled (51%) by Kuzbassrazrezugol the Russian coal mining company which is among the world’s top ten coal exporters. The power plant is being developed adjacent to the Hatfield colliery which was closed in 2004. Hatfield contains a $100 million coal resource which will be available to the plant.

Powerfuel has already received government permitting for a part of the project. Engineering work will now proceed to the conclusion of a full front end engineering design (FEED) package. Construction of the plant will take three to four years. Discussions are currently taking place with third parties with a view to the construction of a pipeline to transport CO2 from Humberside on the UK’s North Sea coast, 35 kilometers from Hatfield, for sequestration in secure storage sites in the North Sea. Humberside is a heavily industrialized area with numerous large CO2 emitters.

“We are delighted to be working with Shell in our vision to be the first commercial scale coal fired power generator with carbon capture in the world. Success in this project would be enormously significant for the UK and EU [European Union] energy policy as it offers the benefits of a local, inexpensive fuel, improved security of electricity supply and very low carbon emissions. The agreement maintains our leading position in the development of carbon capture from coal fired electricity generation in the UK,” said Richard Budge, Chief Executive of Powerfuel.

Powerfuel is also looking at the prospects of using the hydrogen rich stream to provide hydrogen for the transportation industry and the supply of syngas for existing combined cycle gas turbines. The company is also planning to make an investment in a bioethanol plant at Hatfield which would be supplied with power from the IGCC plant.

Coal gasification is claimed to be the cleanest method for converting coal’s energy into electricity. The process turns the coal feed into a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. At Hatfield, this will facilitate the separation of the carbon dioxide pre-combustion in the turbine generators. It is this factor which offers a lower cost approach to carbon capture.

Peter de Wit, Shell Gas & Power Executive Vice President of Global Business, said, “Shell is at the forefront of developments in clean coal and our leading edge technology is clean, efficient and reliable. The agreement with Powerfuel is the second we have signed in Europe in less than a year and is the first in this region for a project incorporating carbon capture and storage from the outset. The deal signals a further expansion of our clean coal business outside China, where we have sold fifteen gasification licenses over the past five years.”

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