Research Fund for Coal and Steel : a summary of the findings of the Coal Research Technical Groups : 2023

The Research Fund for Coal and Steel has made significant contributions to the European Green Deal and the Just Transition Mechanism through its coal-related research and innovation projects. The fund's portfolio of projects addresses key areas such as the creation of new jobs and retraining of employees, economic revitalisation, clean energy technologies, land reclamation and the repurposing of power plants and related infrastructure. The fund supports research projects, accompanying measures and pilot and demonstration projects, focusing on carbon capture, utilisation and storage; coal mine closure; and low-carbon, coal-based power generation. The technical groups play a crucial role in monitoring research projects, disseminating and exploiting research results and providing feedback to policymakers. This report takes into consideration the final report of the joint technical groups' meeting, which took place in September 2023, and aims to highlight the most important outcomes identified. These include various elements related to the status of the projects and their potential impact on the industry's performance (e.g. synergies, competitiveness) and regarding European Union policies (e.g. the European Green Deal). To achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal, more investment in key technologies aiming to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are needed, while making use of existing infrastructure and the know-how of the European industry. More research must be focused on specific areas that are not sufficiently covered by the current project portfolio, such as reducing the environmental impact of mining and addressing post-mining environmental issues and energy storage and production in repurposed post-mining infrastructure.