ARA
Antwerp/Rotterdam/Amsterdam – the major coal importing ports of northwest Europe.

Briquette
Briquettes, from the French brique or brick, are a manufactured solid fuel used by households and at small industrial plants for heat generation.

Capesize
A vessel of above 80,000 DWT which is too large to transit via the Panama Canal and thus must sail via the Cape of Good Hope from Pacific to Atlantic or vice versa.

Carbon dioxide – CO₂
Carbon dioxide is the product of natural processes and the combustion of fossil fuels. Together with other greenhouse gases (such as water vapour and methane) CO₂ traps heat energy in the atmosphere. This keeps the Earth warmer than it would otherwise be.

CC(U)S
Carbon capture and storage or CCS is a process which aims to capture and store CO₂. In some cases, the captured CO₂ can be used – hence CCUS or carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

CIF
Cost, Insurance and Freight – a trading arrangement whereby the seller of a cargo pays for loading costs, ocean freight and insurance.

Coke
A coal-based product with a high carbon content and few impurities that is used as a fuel and reducing agent in iron and steel production.

Coking or metallurgical coal
Coking coal is a bituminous coal of a suitable quality to produce coke and typically has 20% to 40% volatile matter.

DWT
Deadweight tonnage – an expression of a vessel´s carrying capacity, including the weight of the crew, passengers, cargo, fuel, ballast, drinking water, and stores.

Efficiency
The ratio of output energy and input energy for an energy transformation process. For thermal power generation, it is the ratio of electrical energy output and the heating (calorific) value of the fuel used. This is currently 46% for hard coal and 43% for lignite.

Energy mix
A diversified energy mix with different energy carriers from different regions in the world can contribute to a secure energy supply and prevent shortages.

FOB
Free On Board – a trading arrangement whereby the seller of a cargo pays for loading costs, but not for ocean freight or insurance.

Fossil fuels
Coal, lignite, peat, oil shale, oil and fossil gas (sometime called “natural gas”).

Gross domestic product (GDP)
The gross domestic product of a national economy is a measures of economic performance in terms of final goods and services purchased. GDP is a better reference for domestic energy market analysis than gross national income (GNI) which also includes cash movements that have no influence on energy demand.

Handymax
Inexact term, but normally taken to mean a vessel of about 40 000 to 60 000 DWT.

Handysize
Inexact term, but normally taken to mean a vessel of about 10-40,000 DWT.

Joule (J)
Since 1978 Joule is the official international energy unit. Another unit is the tce (tonne of coal equivalent). 1 Mtce is equal to 29.308 PJ and 1 Gtce is equal to 29.308 EJ.

Lignite
Solid fossil fuel of organic origin. Calorific value: 7 000 to 12 000 kJ/kg.

Mtce
Million tonnes of coal equivalent (= 0.700 Mtoe) – a unit of energy

Mtoe
Million tonnes of oil equivalent (= 1.429 Mtce) – a unit of energy

Net-zero power plant
A CO₂-free thermal power plant using CCS technology to capture CO₂ before, during or after the process of electricity generation. The captured CO₂ can then be transported and stored. The plant might combust fossil fuels and/or biofuels.

Opencast mining
Fossil fuels can be extracted in opencast pits after removing overburden and handling groundwater. Overburden is continuously placed back in mined areas which are then recultivated.

Overburden
The layers of gravel, sand, silt, clay and soil which have to be removed in order to mine the coal resource in an opencast mine.

Panamax
A vessel of about 60 000 to 80 000 DWT and of the maximum size that can transit the Panama Canal – restriction of 32.2 m beam and 51.25 m for the new canal.

Primary energy
Energy before any transformation: e.g. crude oil, hard coal, lignite, uranium, wood, solar radiation, hydro or wind power.

Recultivation
Landscape designing after mining activity has stopped, aiming at creating an ecologically useful landscape.

Resources 
The entire amount of estimated reserves in a deposit or coalfield but which may or may not be economically and technically mineable.

Reserves
Reserves are proved (or measured) geological reserves which are economically and technically mineable in the short or medium term.

Seam
A geological layer containing raw materials such as coal or lignite.

Spot
The spot price is the current price of a commodity with payment being immediate and the buyer taking delivery immediately or within a few days.

Steam or thermal coal
A coal type used for electricity and heat generation with important parameters being its calorific value, as well as its ash, moisture and sulphur content.