Coal
Overview
Global thermal coal prices surged to record levels in 2022, experiencing unprecedented volatility. Prices have since come off as risks associated with Europe’s supply recede. At a global level, coal demand remains robust with security of supply shifting higher up the agenda of many governments in light of geopolitical upheaval.
In Europe, sanctions have shifted the region’s coal import mix away from Russia and towards other suppliers. The pace of coal plant phase-outs in the region is set to increase in the years ahead, with the role of coal in the electricity mix shifting further towards peak-load usage, making forward planning more challenging.
In Asia-Pacific, thermal coal remains a pillar of the power and industrial sectors. Global coal trade flows and price spreads are shifting, with flows from key suppliers Russia, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Colombia, and the US penetrating new markets, in response to price dynamics and trade barriers.
Keeping on top of prices and flows, and how coal markets intersect with other energy and commodity benchmarks, will be critical in the coming years.
Latest coal news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global coal industry.
EU may crank up coal and steel research funds in 2027
EU may crank up coal and steel research funds in 2027
London, 11 December (Argus) — The European Commission could fund a much larger share of research in the coal and steel industry from 2027, according to a staff working document published yesterday. The EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) would fund 70pc of corporate research and 100pc of academic research into green initiatives if the EU moves forth with the proposal. It currently funds 50pc of both corporate and academic research projects, but has struggled to attract participants or meet its spending targets, noting that the "underspending of the project is rooted in a lack of attractiveness of certain aspects of the programme". RFCS spent 57pc of its €43mn ($50mn) budget for large coal projects and only 31pc of its €208mn budget for steel research from 2021 to 2024. Brussels, troubled by a lack of applications, consulted companies and academics this year and found that its spending requirements were the largest barrier. Most were unable or unwilling to fund 50pc of large research projects themselves. RFCS has supported a number of groups hoping to repurpose old coal mines for clean energy. GreenJOBS and Mine-TO-H2, two funding recipients, both plan on making green hydrogen from mine water, while GrEnMine received pilot funding worth €3.5mn to research new ways to store gravitational energy in abandoned mines. Others, such as REM and GI-mine, are working on new methods to capture methane from coal mines. In the steel sector, RFCS has awarded funds to hydrogen power projects such as ProSynteg and HYDREAMS and research groups such as BIOCODE, which hopes to replace up to 10pc of the coal in coke ovens with biomass. The EU dissolved the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) — an agency tasked with making a common European steel market, which eventually led to the creation of the EU — in 2002. The EU used revenues from ECSC assets to launch and fund the RFCS in the same year, and boosted the programme in 2021 by tapping into the assets themselves. By Austin Barnes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
S Korea sets up task forces for renewable bottlenecks
S Korea sets up task forces for renewable bottlenecks
London, 11 December (Argus) — South Korea has launched a climate and energy task force across eight regional environment agencies, as well as a climate and energy field response team, its climate and energy ministry Mcee announced today. The move aligns with its government's coal phase-out target, aiming to ease bottlenecks in its renewable energy transition while expanding renewable capacity across regions. The task force will carry out work on site, mediating local disputes and identifying region-specific projects, while the field response team will drive regulatory changes based on local feedback and support renewable project development through monthly review meetings. In addition, Mcee, South Jeolla province, Kepco and the Korea Energy Agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to accelerate the country's shift to renewables. The four organisations will work together to promote community participation, support timely grid development and run local dispute resolution platforms. "Renewable expansion can advance only with community participation. The regional environment agencies will work closely with local communities to help drive the country's climate and energy transition." Mcee minister Kim Sung-hwan said at the event. Meanwhile, South Korea is aiming to expand its offshore wind capacity from the current 350MW levels to 10.5GW by 2030 and 25GW by 2035, Kim announced yesterday. The South Korean government has pursued offshore wind development for several years, but many projects have been delayed because of limited infrastructure, permit issues and local opposition. Market participants are paying close attention to its newly-launched teams set up to address these issues on the ground. Separately, the government last week announced plans to increase installed onshore wind capacity from about the current level of around 2GW to 12GW by 2035. Coal supplied 28pc of the country's power generation in January-September, while wind — including both onshore and offshore capacity — contributed just 0.6pc over the same period, according to Argus data. By Dayu Park Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Zambia to develop 300MW of new coal-fired capacity
Zambia to develop 300MW of new coal-fired capacity
London, 11 December (Argus) — Tanzanian conglomerate Amsons Group and Zambian energy firm Exergy Africa have announced a $900mn partnership to develop 1.3GW of generation capacity in Zambia. This will comprise 300MW of coal-fired capacity and 1GW of solar capacity, with $300mn and $600mn to be allocated to the respective energy sources in a bid to boost Zambia's energy security. Half of the new solar capacity is expected to be added to the grid within 18 months, with the full 300MW of coal-fired capacity and remaining 500MW of solar capacity to be installed within two years, according to Zambian energy minister Makozo Chikote. Zambia has recently turned to coal-fired power to reduce its dependence on hydropower, which accounts for around 85pc of the country's total electricity generation, given recent dry spells have caused water levels in Lake Kariba to fall below those sufficient for power generation. Kariba Dam levels remained near a record low this year, resulting in continual load-shedding after a severe drought in 2024 drained Lake Kariba. The country's only operational coal-fired plant, the 300MW Maamba coal power station owned by Zambia's largest coal mining firm Maamba Collieries, is set to double its capacity to 600MW after the construction of a second coal-fired unit was approved last year. Zambia last year also approved the construction of another 300MW coal-fired unit as part of the Mulungwa Power Generation project — a joint venture between Zambian firm Africa Power Coal and China's Jiangsu Etern. Construction of a new 600MW coal-fired power plant is also under way in Sinazongwe, according to the Zambian government, after Chinese-owned Wonderful Group's $900mn proposal was approved this year. The first 150MW of coal-fired capacity is expected to be installed by the third quarter of next year, with a further 150MW of capacity to be added in each quarter through to the second quarter of 2027. By Bryan Wu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Commodity rail shippers push for more train data
Commodity rail shippers push for more train data
Houston, 11 December (Argus) — Industrial shippers of commodities like grain and petrochemicals want federal regulators to widen the scope of proposed rules that would require Class I railroads to report more data on their on-time service performance. US rail regulator the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in September put the industry on notice that it intends to issue rules to require that each of the six biggest railroads, including Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, report two new categories of performance data to the agency. The first would benchmark railroads' shipments against their original estimated time of arrival (OETA) and the second would measure "industry spot and pull" data, or ISP, to determine whether shipments are picked up and delivered within their planned service window. The board action aims to address rail shippers' long-running concerns that unpredictable rail service is a wild card in their supply chains, as many shippers rely nearly completely on rail to get their goods to market. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), an industry group that lobbies for US refiners and petrochemical manufacturers, applauded the STB for working to address "chronic freight rail service failures." The OETA is meant to track a carrier's targeted arrival time when it dispatches a cargo and then flag the percentage of weekly shipments that reach their destinations no later than 24 hours after an intended target, the STB said in its proposal. The AFPM, whose members include companies like Dow, Occidental Chemical and Ineos who collectively ship about 2.5mn carloads a year, said OETA data should be broken out by region, terminal, and corridor "to reveal localized bottlenecks often masked by system averages." As proposed, the STB's OETA measurement would apply to manifest train service, where trains haul an assortment of railcar types, and not to unit trains, which exclusively haul one railcar type or bulk commodity, such as coal, grain or crude. Grain shippers and the US Department of Agriculture disagreed with the STB's decision to exclude unit train shipments from the OETA measurement. The National Grain and Feed Association, whose members include Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and other biofuels makers, said that late unit train deliveries of commodities like grain, ethanol or coal "can result in proportionally greater harm to the shipper/receiver" than smaller manifest shipments. The USDA agreed that unit train shipments should be included in the OETA measurement, and pointed out that about 75pc of US railed corn and soybean shipments in 2023 traveled in trains hauling more than 75 railcars, which would not be captured by manifest shipment data. Demand for agricultural products is highly seasonal, and missed delivery windows "can halt processing lines, disrupt export programs, and force shippers to carry excess private car inventory to buffer uncertainty," the agency said. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), which lobbies on behalf of Class I railroads, pushed back on industry requests to widen the OETA to include unit train shipments, and told the STB that several railroads do not currently generate the metrics. Adding the reporting requirements "would add regulatory burden, waste resources, and misrepresent service on the network," the AAR said. By Chris Baltimore Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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