Coal was the miracle fuel that fired up the industrial revolution, and enabled us to enter the industrial age. A century or so later we are beginning to regret this, because of the vast amounts of carbon that coal releases to the atmosphere. There is general consensus we need to stop burning fossil fuel as soon as we can. Scientists at Penn State University have suggested a new purpose for coal in the green energy mix.
Penn State University’s Proposed New Purpose for Coal
Coal naturally stores energy curated by trees over countless millennia, and we can release this as heat by burning it. So coal is, if you like, a natural battery storing energy. But the scientists at Penn State University would like to turn this on its head, by storing a different form of energy as a new purpose for coal.
They regard anything, quite rightly, that stores energy as a type of battery. However, clearly that ‘anything’ needs to be environmentally responsible too, and so they cast their minds around for something suitable. Hydrogen gas seemed a good possibility, on account of its clean-burning properties, and prospects for generation and transportation.
Fair Enough But How Would This Work in Practice?
Coal appears as seams running through ancient rocks. The Penn State University team imagines injecting hydrogen gas into these formations, and then extracting it when they needed it. This would solve the current problem of storing hydrogen gas economically, and safely.
North America has generous stocks of natural coal ranging from low-volatile bituminous to high-performance anthracite. All eight known types have significant absorption properties. This ticks the box for safe, economic storage. Now we need to forge ahead and start replacing fossil with hydrogen.
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