Coal is not only fuel, there are many possibilities for its use

Janusz Olszowski, President of the Mining Chamber of Industry and Commerce notes that in the era of climate action, one should start talking about the benefits from coal, because now it has become a "scapegoat". According to Olszowski, the most important role of coal in Poland is to ensure energy security. At the same time, he notes that coal is not only a fuel, but also a raw material that is used to produce coke and steel, an ecological fuel such as hydrogen, and materials such as nanotubes and graphene. In addition, he also draws attention to the problem that may arise when coal is withdrawn from the European economy. Then the phenomenon of "leakage of industry" outside the Union is extremely likely, and: "emissions emitted outside of Europe will not reduce the scale of the global climate problem”.There are many possibilities of using coal. An example would be the coal gasification process, which produces synthesis gas - a raw material for the production of hydrogen and many other chemicals, e.g. methanol and olefins.Another example - coking coal - can be linked to the vision of industry and the economy 4.0 through carbon materials and hydrogen, which are currently used much below potential.Processing of coal tar is a part of fibers and carbon composites production used on a large scale in the aviation industry. What's more, products from coal tar processing are also used in lithium batteries.Thus, coal is a fuel, but also a raw material that is still needed, which can be a clean source of energy in the steel, aviation, automotive and other industries.