There are still three contradictions in the clean and efficient utilization of coal: the "two carbon" strategy and the coal chemical industry under the limited background of "two highs" (middle)

China is the world's largest coal producer and consumer
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Although the proportion of coal in domestic primary energy consumption is declining year by year, its main energy status will not change for a long time
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A deep understanding of China's energy resource endowment and the basic guarantee role of coal, and the clean, efficient and sustainable development and utilization of coal is still a choice that conforms to the current basic national conditions and energy conditions.
Faced with three major contradictions that cannot be ignored
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First, the basic attributes of energy conversion in the chemical industry make the development of the modern coal chemical industry contradict the previous “dual control” policy environment for energy consumption
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Previously, governments at all levels strictly enforced “double control” of energy consumption and vigorously reduced energy consumption, aiming to adjust the energy consumption structure and promote industrial transformation
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However, in view of China's resource endowment, coal chemical industry still occupies an important position in the domestic chemical industry
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After decades of development, China's coal chemical technology has become quite mature, the sulfur in coal can be fully recycled, and other air pollutants can also be completely purified, recycled and disposed of harmlessly.
Compared with coal-fired heating and coal-fired power generation , the pollutant emissions of coal chemical industry are not large
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With the continuous improvement of coal conversion efficiency and added value, coal chemical companies are firmly committed to the route of high coal conversion and high-end coal, which is of great significance for optimizing China's energy structure and ensuring energy security
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To this end, industry experts have been calling in recent years that chemical raw coal and thermal coal should not be included in the energy consumption assessment "one size fits all".
At present, the state has adjusted relevant policies, but new policies in some areas need to be further implemented
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Second, the development of carbon emission reduction technologies and comprehensive carbon utilization approaches is slow, which contradicts the company's carbon neutrality vision
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The high carbon nature of coal is inherently unchangeable, but China's dominant energy source is precisely coal
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At present, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is regarded as a key technology to solve this shortcoming
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However, CCUS technology has not yet demonstrated sufficient commercial viability
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According to the current situation, the application of CCUS in the coal power industry will increase energy consumption by 24% to 40%, increase investment by 20% to 30%, efficiency loss by 8% to 15%, and increase comprehensive power generation cost by more than 70%
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In the coal chemical industry, the development of carbon sequestration and carbon recycling is a prominent problem facing the entire industry.
We must rely on scientific and technological innovation to increase scientific and technological efforts in carbon emission reduction, carbon offset, and carbon recycling as soon as possible.
Special chemicals for carbon sequestration and value-added, carbon reduction and efficiency improvement
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The third is the concentrated transformation of industries caused by the restriction of high-energy-consuming industries, which forms a contradiction with the "Red Sea competition" of downstream industries
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Since last year, many places have campaigned for "carbon reduction" and advanced the "dual carbon" strategy ahead of time.
Some provinces have exerted too much pressure to reduce coal, resulting in the disconnection of coal production, transportation, storage and use
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In some places, strict "double control" of energy consumption is deliberately reduced the production load of coal power, resulting in "coal shortage" and "electricity shortage", which has brought trouble to the sustainable and healthy development of the coal chemical industry
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The increasingly strict "double control" of energy consumption and the blind development policy of curbing "two highs" projects will force enterprises to continuously optimize the structure of raw materials, products and energy consumption, promote energy conservation, emission reduction and comprehensive utilization of resources, and take ecological priority and green development path
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Among them, a considerable number of coal chemical companies are planning to transform, decisively cut off relevant production lines, and directly cut into the hot new material and new energy track
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According to statistics, in 2021 alone, nearly 20 listed chemical companies will announce the construction of new energy batteries and other related projects
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However, the centralized transformation of these enterprises will lead to the centralized release of some downstream products on the market in the next few years, ushering in new excess capacity and more intense "red sea competition"
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