Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Apr. 13 -- Japan plans to help Chinese companies liquefy coal in an effort to satisfy the soaring demand for energy in China.
An official of Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEITDO) said it is more economical to try the technology in China than in Japan, which has fewer available mines.
He said liquefaction experiments will start in Beijing this year. Chinese companies will eventually build plants near mines to turn coal into liquid fuels.
Under the scheme, a Chinese power company will start operating a liquefaction plant in 2010 to process 3,000 tons/day of coal mined in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Also in 2010, a Chinese coal company will develop a mine in the Uighur autonomous region of Xinjiang and start testing a plant to process 2,500-3,000 tons/day of coal.
The NEITDO official said the project aims at meeting the demand for energy in China's inland areas that are suffering shortages.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
