Today, it takes half as much coal to generate a kilowatt-hour of electricity as it did in the 1950s. We need to keep improving the technology of coal-fired generation. Because the more efficient a power plant is, the less fuel it uses and the less carbon dioxide is created.

A pilot unit at E.ON's Scholven power station is already pointing the way to a lower-carbon future. It's part of an EU-funded project called COMTES700 involving E.ON, other power generators, and renowned plant manufacturers. Tests have been under way at the COMTES 700 plant since 2005 to perfect the new temperature- and pressure-resistant components and materials that will make it possible to achieve thermal efficiency of more than 50 percent, a new milestone in coal-fired generation. Thanks to this level of efficiency we will be able to generate 30 percent more electricity than a conventional German power plant today using the same amount of coal. The next stage of development is to build a 500 MW demonstration plant in Wilhelmshaven. From the middle of the next decade onwards, this innovative power plant concept is to be implemented in a large-scale commercial dimension for the first time.