MORE INFO Hydrogen from Coal RD&D Plan [2.88MB PDF]

Hydrogen-rich liquids and substitute natural gas (SNG) can be cleanly produced from our Nation’s coal and coal-biomass resources.  These products are characterized by their high hydrogen content and have the potential to be transported through the existing fuel delivery system.  These fuels can subsequently be converted into hydrogen near the point of use.  This can potentially eliminate the need for large capital investments in hydrogen transportation and distribution infrastructure, which would likely be required with production of hydrogen from central facilities.   

R&D Needs
Several challenges exist to using hydrogen-rich liquids and SNG from coal as a feedstock for hydrogen production at distributed locations.  Research is needed to lower the cost and optimize and demonstrate advanced technologies for production of liquids and SNG from coal and coal-biomass mixtures.  Additionally, efficient and low-cost distributed reformers must also be developed.   

To address these challenges, the Hydrogen from Coal Program supports research for the Alternative Production Pathway by:

• development of computational and analytical tools to simulate hydrogen-rich liquid fuels and SNG production and distributed reforming of these fuels;
• production of hydrogen-rich liquid fuels and SNG from coal particularly novel reactor and catalyst systems,
• evaluation of optimal process technologies and pathways for production of liquids and SNG from coal-biomass mixtures;
• optimization and demonstration of sub-central reformers for hydrogen-rich liquid fuels and SNG; and
• economic and environmental evaluation of this pathway to other hydrogen production pathways.

Benefits
Production of hydrogen-rich liquids and SNG from coal and coal-biomass mixtures offers several benefits.  These fuels will reduce the amount of petroleum that the United States imports because they are produced from domestic resources.  Additionally, lower capital investments may be possible than other hydrogen production and delivery pathways because some of these fuels could use existing delivery infrastructure, eliminating the need for development of a new, capital intensive hydrogen infrastructure.  These fuels may also be used directly in existing vehicle engines while fuel cell vehicles and other hydrogen utilization technologies become commercially available.