Introducing NZEC

The UK-China Near Zero Emissions Coal (NZEC) initiative was launched on 20th November 2007 in Beijing.

UK-China NZEC launch event in Beijing, November 2007

The UK envisages an ambitious three-phase approach for NZEC. Phase 1, Assessment, will explore options for demonstrating carbon capture and storage and will build capacity for CCS in China. Phase 2 will carry out further development work on storage and capture options and will lead to Phase 3, which will involve construction of the demonstration plant in China by 2014.

Phase 1 will run to Autumn 2009. It will build stronger links and enhance collaboration between Chinese and European experts in the field, and will study a range of options for demonstrating carbon capture and storage in coal-fired power generation in China.

Above: Deputy British Ambassador Barbara Woodward and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Vice-Minister Liu Yanhua launch the first phase of the China-UK NZEC initiative in Beijing (November 2007)

The objectives of Phase 1 are to:

• Enable knowledge transfer between Chinese and UK parties (academic, industrial and other).
• Model the future energy requirements of China, taking CCS technology into account.
• Produce case studies of potential carbon dioxide capture technologies.
• Build capacity in China for evaluation of storage potential for CO₂ and perform first stage. characterisations for a selection of sites suitable for CO2 storage.
• Develop a technical and policy level roadmap for CCS.

Phase 1 is supported, up to £3.5m, by the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), and is being taken forward in partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

It will be managed by UK consultants, AEA, in partnership with the Administrative Centre for China's Agenda 21 (ACCA21), and will involve a consortium of key industrial and academic partners from the UK and China. For a full list of partners please click here.

Knowledge sharing with other CCS initiatives will be a key activity for the project. NZEC will work particularly closely with the COACH project (COoperation Action within CCS CHina-EU). This project, which is partially funded by the EU under the 6th Framework Programme, aims to prepare the ground for implementation in China of large-scale polygeneration energy facilities with options for coal-based electric power generation as well as production of hydrogen and synthetic fuels. These facilities require CO₂ capture and geological storage (including use for enhanced oil or gas recovery). COACH addresses three issues:        

• Coal gasification for appropriate polygeneration schemes with CCS.
• Identification of reliable geological storage of CO₂ in China.
• Funding mechanisms, regulatory framework and public acceptance.

 

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