A research team led by Professor Xie Heping at Shenzhen University has developed what it calls a zero-carbon-emission direct coal fuel cell. The technology is attracting attention because it aims to generate electricity from coal without burning it.

Instead of using combustion, the system crushes and purifies coal before feeding it into a high-temperature fuel cell. Inside the cell, carbon reacts electrochemically with oxygen ions. That process releases electrons directly into an external circuit, creating electricity without the familiar chain of fire, boilers, steam, turbines, and smokestacks.

That is the central breakthrough. Conventional coal stations first turn chemical energy into heat, then heat into steam, then steam into mechanical force, and finally that force into electricity. Each stage wastes energy. A direct coal fuel cell bypasses much of that process.

Chinese researchers say the system could theoretically achieve efficiency levels of 75% to 80% [the share of the “stored” energy in the coal extracted], compared with the far lower efficiency of conventional coal-fired power stations.

The second advantage is carbon capture. In a normal coal plant capturing carbon is complicated and expensive. In the new Chinese system, the coal does not burn in open air. The result is a concentrated stream of carbon dioxide and water vapour, which can be captured far more easily. That captured carbon dioxide could then be sent into mineralisation reactors, where it reacts with industrial waste or mineral salts to form stable solids such as sodium bicarbonate or calcium carbonate. In theory, that would turn part of the emissions problem into a chemical feedstock opportunity.

For South Africa, the potential application is clear. The country still depends heavily on coal for baseload electricity. Its coal power fleet is old, unreliable, and politically controversial, but the underlying resource remains one of the country’s major strategic advantages.

A technology that could produce more electricity from the same coal while sharply reducing emissions would therefore matter. It would offer South Africa a different route through the current energy debate, which often presents the country with a blunt choice between coal dependence and rapid deindustrialisation through unreliable green energy substitution.

The technology also points to a longer-term possibility. Chinese researchers have raised the prospect of deploying such systems in deep underground coal seams. Instead of mining and transporting coal to the surface, robotic systems could one day process the coal underground and transmit electricity to the surface through high-voltage cables.

That would radically change the economics and environmental footprint of coal. It could reduce open-cast scarring, coal transport pollution, mine waste, and surface infrastructure. It could also make previously unmineable coal seams useful for power generation.

None of this is imminent. The technology remains at laboratory and pilot-validation stage. It faces serious challenges, including materials engineering, high operating temperatures, fuel purity requirements, cell durability, and manufacturing cost. Commercial deployment is still likely some time away.

But the direction is important. China is not treating coal simply as a fuel of the past. It is investing in ways to make coal cleaner, more efficient, and more compatible with carbon constraints – something Eskom and South Africa’s government should be paying close attention to.