CONSOL will use the funds to further research into a green coal plant concept it has developed that would incorporate fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) and carbon capture technologies.

The project will receive an unspecified share of US$80 million in funding allocated under the DOE's Coal FIRST programme, which has been created to research development of net-zero hydrogen energy and electricity plants fuelled by natural gas, coal, waste plastics or biomass.

CONSOL's envisioned 300MW plant would store 97% of its CO2 emissions deep underground, while using wet waste coal derived from CONSOL's bituminous coal mining operations in southwest Pennsylvania as a feedstock.

The company aims for the plant's potential to be demonstrated in the next 5-10 years and beginnig to achieve market penetration by 2030.

CONSOL's Bailey Central Preparation Plant in Greene County, Pennsylvania, which produces close to 3 million t/yr of fine coal refuse with a higher heating value of about 7,000 Btu/lb, has been noted as a potential site location.

The CONSOL PFBC plant concept is one of four projects that will use the funds to complete design development, conduct a host site evaluation, create an investment case analysis and advance the design of an engineering-scale prototype.