New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) recently announced that it had initiated the third phase of an Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (IGFC) Demonstration Project on April 17, 2019. The third phase of the IGFC Demonstration Project will focus on combining an Oxygen-blown Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) with CO2 capture technology and fuel cells, aiming to verify the system performance. This system will capture CO2 from syngas to produce hydrogen-rich gas to use as fuel. The project is being conducted by NEDO and OSAKI CoolGen Corporation, a joint venture company between Chugoku Electric Power and Electric Power Development Company (J-POWER).

In Japan, coal-fired power generation accounts for approximately 30% of the domestic power generation. However, coal-fired power generates more CO2 than other fossil fuels. NEDO has launched the IGFC Demonstration Project in order to explore opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions from coal generation in FY2018. The project aims to develop a commercial-scale IGFC system (500 MW-class) with approximately 47% Higher Heating Value (HHV) and a CO2 capture rate of 90 percent. The first phase of the project consisted of a demonstration of Oxygen-blown IGCC and the second phase included testing the IGCC with CO2 separation and capture technology. The IGFC Demonstration Project will run until FY2022.[1]