Five of the nation’s largest coal producers and two utilities with combined generation capacity of 75,000 MW are joining to design, build and operate the world’s first coal-fired powerplant that will emit almost no air pollution while producing hydrogen and sequestering carbon dioxide. The FutureGen Industrial Alliance hopes to construct the completely integrated 275-MW plant by 2012 at a cost of $752 million. The location and other details have not yet been settled.

Founding members of the non-profit alliance are American Electric Power Co., Columbus, Ohio; BHP Billiton, Melbourne, Australia; Battelle, Columbus, Ohio; CONSOL Energy Inc., Pittsburgh; Foundation Coal, Linthicum Heights, Md.; Peabody Energy, St. Louis; Kennecott Energy Co., Gillette, Wyo.; and Southern Co., Atlanta.

President Bush launched the FutureGen program in February 2003 as a 10-year demonstration project. DOE estimates it will cost $950 million, with $752 million earmarked for engineering and construction. The consortium’s members will directly fund $250 million and DOE $620 million. International partners are expected to provide $80 million more.

Synthesis gas in the plant reacting with steam will produce hydrogen and CO2. The hydrogen will be used as a clean fuel for turbines, fuel cells or hybrid combinations. The CO2 will be permanently sequestered deep in the ground.

“The coming year will focus on conceptual design, initiating site selection, as well as defining a detailed project implementation schedule,” says Ken Humphreys, Battelle’s FutureGen program leader. “The contracting strategy is in development, but major acquisitions and the primary architect-engineering contract will be competed about 12 to 24 months from now.”

The New York City-based Natural Resources Defense Council supports the concept behind FutureGen but believes it should be added onto a conventional pulverized coal plant now in construction instead of as a greenfield plant, says David G. Hawkins, Director of NRDC’s Climate Center.