Introduction

NETL’s Coal Program, comprised of a world-class team of high-performing leaders, scientists, and engineers, houses the necessary engineering and scientific expertise to manage external R&D projects that further the DOE Fossil Energy Coal Program’s goals. Research in this area supports both existing and future power plants; the safe capture, use, and storage of carbon; high-value products from coal; and the stewardship of water used in energy production.

NETL’s Coal Program

Achieving the Full Economic and Security Benefits of our Nation’s Coal Resources

• Effective Resource Development: Realizing the full economic value of our domestic coal resources by identifying novel applications for coal and coal by-products as feedstocks, high-value products, rare earth elements, and critical materials.

• Efficient Energy Conversion: Revolutionizing fossil energy power generation with more efficient and robust power system technologies; advanced high-temperature materials; real-time monitoring; and comprehensive modeling, simulation, and analysis tools.

• Environmental Sustainability: Safeguarding the environment with technologies that optimize carbon capture, utilization, and storage and reduce water used in energy production.

Advanced Energy Systems

Developing and deploying more advanced, efficient, and robust coal-based power technologies to optimize the use of our abundant domestic fossil energy resources and leverage existing infrastructure.

• Coal FIRST
• Transformational Power Generation
• Advanced Combustion and Gasification
• Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
• Advanced Turbines
• Advanced Coal Processing
• Coal-Biomass to Liquids

Carbon Capture

Advancing technologies and techniques to effectively capture CO₂ derived from power generation and other industrial processes.

• Pre- and Post-Combustion Capture Systems 
• Solvents, Sorbents, and Membranes

Carbon Storage

Developing the tools, techniques, and innovations needed to enable safe, permanent CO₂ storage and to pioneer its use and reuse for industry.

• Long-Term Storage Monitoring, Verification, Accounting, and Assessment 
• Storage Infrastructure Demonstration
• Carbon Utilization

Crosscutting Research

Accelerating science and engineering-based solutions across multiple operational platforms to optimize plant performance, reduce O&M costs and water consumption, and develop the next-generation of structural and functional materials.

• High-Performance Materials
• Sensors and Controls
• Simulation-Based Engineering
• Water Management
• Energy Storage
• University Training and Research

STEP (Supercritical CO₂)

Developing and modeling sCO₂ power cycles with the potential to achieve efficiencies greater than 50%, and broad applicability to fossil, nuclear, waste-heat, and concentrated solar energy.

• High-Efficiency Power Cycle
• Reduced Water Consumption and Air Emissions
• Reduced Power Cycle Footprint

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) & Critical Materials (CMs)

Developing novel extraction, processing, and manufacturing technologies to produce a cost-competitive domestic supply of rare earth elements from U.S. coal and coal by-products to sustain our Nation’s robust economy.

• Efficient REE and CM Recovery, Extraction, and Separation 
• Cost-Competitive Domestic Supply of REEs and CMs