On 15 May 2025, an international conference on the coal industry’s transition “from an industrial legend to cutting-edge research for the future” took place at the “Carbonarium” centre in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland. The event, organised by EURACOAL and the European Research Executive Agency, brought together key policymakers, research engineers and representatives of the coal industry and regions from across the European Union.

An illustrated report is available here along with presentations and videos.

The conference was hosted by Europe’s largest coking coal company, Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A., to discuss the challenges facing the coal sector, with a particular focus on the roles of science, technology and engineering in the EU’s green transformation and its raw material supply security.

“We don’t turn away from the past, but we are turning it into the future. Europe needs the knowledge that the mining regions have, and the RFCS (Research Fund for Coal and Steel) is the bridge between industrial heritage and green innovation,” said Alicja Krzemień, President of EURACOAL. Prof. Krzemień also pointed out that the RFCS is now a pillar in the development and deployment of modern technologies at former coal mines and power plants, by enabling projects in the fields of land remediation and new energy infrastructure based on green energy sources.

Coal mine methane and the recent EU Methane Regulation were a key focus of the meeting. The REM project on the reduction of methane emissions was presented, this being the largest such project co-financed by the Polish coal mining industry in the history of the RFCS. The ProVAM project, whose main goal is to develop methods and guidelines for the capture of methane from ventilation air, was also presented. The challenges of implementing the EU Methane Regulation were addressed by a representative of the European Commission: “Today, it is crucial that the methodology for measuring methane emissions is uniform across all mine sites. We have thousands of closed mines that need to be monitored. The most difficult is ventilation methane – its concentration is low, but the airflows are huge.”

The event, which was held under the auspices of the Polish Presidency of the European Union, was attended by 200 representatives coming from the Polish Ministry of Industry, the European Commission, and the European Research Executive Agency, as well as research scientists and industrialists from across Europe. The Polish Minister of Industry, Marzena Czarnecka, stressed the important role of Silesia. “Transformation is happening here and now. Silesia is particularly burdened with socio-economic problems. It is our duty to ensure that change is “soft”, well-planned and serves the people.” she said.

During the conference, many other recent and new RFCS projects were presented by project partners: MEMO, METH2GEN, GI-MINE, RECOVERY, GreenJOBS, TRIM4Post-Mining, RAISING, and COFA.

At a meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Extractive Industries hosted by the European Commission (DG EMPL) on 23 September 2024, EURACOAL, together with the social partners Euromines, IMA Europe, APEP, UEPG and IndustriAll, signed joint recommendations for the next European Mandate (2024-2029). Continue reading Social Partners Statement →

On 8 May, EURACOAL and the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency (REA) organised an event at the former Pozo Sotón coal mine near Oviedo in Asturias to promote the RFCS research programme calls and discuss future priorities.  Several EURACOAL members attended including the acting EURACOAL president, Ing. Vladimír Budinský, who delivered a keynote address with a clear message:  the RFCS is a successful research fund that now assists transformation in the coal regions and lays the foundations for new energy systems of the future.  Referring to the RFCS technical guidelines, he called for the scope of the research programme to be broadened to support a great variety of projects in line with “a climate-neutral and environmentally friendly transition”, especially the repurposing of former mines and other coal-related sites even if research activities do not directly involve coal, the “black gold”.

Former European Commissioner for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, spoke on the new EU methane regulation, while the officer responsible for coal mine methane at the UNECE joined as a panellist.  Meanwhile, Enrique Fernández, President of HUNOSA who kindly hosted the event, spoke on the transformation of Spain’s largest coal mining company.  The event was also an opportunity for the partners of several RFCS projects to present their work in public.

REA concluded with an upbeat message to the coal sector, urging researchers to submit good proposals for the €800 million budget available through to 2027.  All presentations are available at links in the report below and the event can be watched on YouTube: keynotes,  hydrogen session and methane  session (with concluding remarks).

Continue reading Report on a high-level RFCS event, 8 May 2024, Pozo Sotón, Oviedo, Spain →

As EURACOAL’s premier publication, Coal industry across Europe provides a snapshot of the coal and lignite mining industry and the influence of EU policy on the coal sector as a whole, including power generation.  With many facts and figures, it covers not only the EU, but also Energy Community countries and the UK and Morocco, given that these two coal-using countries are well interconnected with EU member states. In this 8^th edition, new chapters on phasing out coal in the EU and what a just transition means complement an updated chapter on the international coal market and global energy trends.

The association’s beautifully illustrated report was published on the web in January and is now available in hard copy (and pdf) with a foreword by Prof. Jerzy Buzek, a Member of the European Parliament since 2004, President of the European Parliament 2009-2012, and Prime Minister of Poland 1997-2001.  As he steps down from the European Parliament, he recalls his first impressions of EURACOAL in 2004 and looks to a future in which those working in the coal sector’s transformation can be as proud as their forefathers.

The European Association for Coal and Lignite or EURACOAL has members from fourteen EU member states and other countries on paths towards EU membership. In the latest edition of World Coal magazine (2023 issue 2), the association gives an overview of the industry it represents and examines upcoming EU legislation of importance for the future of coal and lignite mining and use in Europe. With climate policies pushing towards coal phase outs, the article concludes with a look at how the EU is supporting the coal regions during what will be a major transformation of the whole energy sector. To read the full article, follow this free subscription link: www.worldcoal.com.

This workshop, kindly hosted by MEP Ondřej Knotek in the European Parliament was organised by EURACOAL to promote the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS). Given the interest of MEPs in the proposed Methane Regulation (COM/2021/805), projects to manage coal mine methane were presented by experts in this field from industry and academia. The European Commission was represented in person by Jane Amilhat, Head of Unit – Low Emission Future Industries at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, and Sebastiano Fumero, Head of Unit responsible for implementing the RFCS research programme. Participants were also honoured to be joined by MEP Ondřej Kovařík and MEP Martina Dlabajová. Continue reading RFCS workshop, European Parliament, 23 May 2023 →

The European Parliament’s work on the proposed Methane Regulation temporarily stalled following revelations that a US-funded green NGO prepared the internal documents used by one of the responsible rapporteurs during negotiations. With the file now progressing again, albeit without one of the original co-rapporteurs, EURACOAL offers its opinion on the regulation. Continue reading EURACOAL opinion on the proposed methane regulation →

On 22 March, EURACOAL participated in the VII Silesia 2030 conference, hosted by MEP Grzegorz Tobiszowski in the European Parliament, Brussels. The event, chaired by Tomasz Zjawiony, President of the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Katowice, examined the growing global demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) and rare earth elements (REEs). These are essential inputs to build the component parts of a clean energy system, as envisaged by the European Green Deal, but their supply is often concentrated in the hands of just a few, non-EU producers, notably China, and with only around 1% recycled.

Continue reading Shining a light on the European Green Deal →

On Monday, 23 January 2023, EURACOAL organised an energy lunch in Brussels. Outgoing EURACOAL President, Ing. Vladimír Budinský, welcomed invited guests to hear presentations from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and RWE.

Members of the European Parliament, colleagues from industry, the media and the European Commission discussed with EURACOAL members the current energy crisis. Carlos Fernández Alvarez presented the IEA’s coal market outlook to 2025, as well as the agency’s views on coal in net-zero transitions. Continue reading To phase out coal, roll out renewables! →

On 22 March, EURACOAL members joined Commission officials and other stakeholders at a summit meeting in Brussels to launch the first “Big-Ticket” call under the recently modernised EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS). The RFCS was established in 2002 after the fifty-year treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) expired. At the coal day, there was a broad discussion on technologies and their role in a “just transition”, but also on energy security. During the preceding steel day, emphasis was put on the green transition, with discussions on how to curb emissions in the steel sector, the need for digitalisation and the rollout of hydrogen in steel production. This 20^th anniversary celebration was web-streamed.

On Monday, 7 March 2022, the Polish Mining Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GIPH) celebrated its 30^th anniversary at the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice with an awards ceremony and concert. The Vice Minister of State Assets and government plenipotentiary for energy and mining transformation, Piotr Pyzik, joined MEPs, members of the Sejm, officials and representatives from science and industry, as well as the President of EURACOAL, Vladimír Budinský. The concert was overshadowed by events in Ukraine where Russian aggressors have created a humanitarian crisis that Poland especially is responding to with great compassion.

Mr. Budinský delivered his speech in Polish (English translation below): Continue reading End the war! →

Dear EURACOAL members,

The hashtag #StandWithUkraine expresses our feelings, but what can we as individuals actually do to help the people of Ukraine in this time of deep crisis in Europe?  Colleagues working for DTEK, our member in Ukraine, are on the front line, working with the army to ensure critical infrastructure is operational.  To secure Ukraine’s electricity supply, ENTSO-E must urgently synchronise the now isolated Ukrainian power system with the EU system. Continue reading EURACOAL on the war in Ukraine →