What: West Virginia University National Research Center for Coal&Energy (NRCCE) and the WVU United States-China Energy Center are hosting a presentation on China Shenhua Group Corporation coal-to-liquid (CTL) projects. In addition, the program will include an update about China Shenhua Coal Liquefaction Co. Ltd.s ongoing projects and a discussion of CTL trends in China. The Shenhua Group Corporation, the world’s largest coal company, is developing coal-to-liquid and coal-to-chemicals plants in China worth $10 billion (US$).

Who: Yuzhuo Zhang, Ph.D., vice executive, Shenhua Group; CEO , China Shenhua Coal Liquefaction Co. Ltd.; and, professor, China Coal Research Institute

When: 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 30

Where: WVU NRCCE Assembly Room, NRCCE Building, 385 Evansdale Dr., Morgantown

Why: The discussion is expected to be valuable for researchers, business developers and government agencies pursuing coal-to-liquids projects in West Virginia.

In 2003, Shenhua began constructing the worlds first commercial direct coal liquefaction plant, located in Inner Mongolia, at a cost of $1.5 billion. Scheduled to open in 2008, the facility employs technology developed with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) support and will produce 22,000 bbl per day of liquid fuel (primarily diesel) from coal. Shenhua is working with DOE on carbon dioxide sequestration and zero water discharge at the plant, both first-of-a-kind environmental demonstrations.

In December 2003, WVU entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Shenhua Coal Liquefaction Co. Ltd. (CSCLCL) to formally establish the commitment of WVU and CSCLCL to research together the consequences of large-scale implementation of coal liquefaction technologies in China. The economic and environmental impacts of coal liquefaction in China are the focus of the MOU . The MOU also promotes technical collaboration on coal and energy projects between WVU and CSCLCL .