Shell and Wison to Develop New Generation Clean Gasification Technology

Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (Shell) from USA and Wison Engineering Ltd. (Wison) today announced their agreement to jointly develop a new, low-cost “hybrid” gasification technology demonstration plant in China, to collaborate in the technology’s future design and marketing, and to extend future cooperation to other coal gasification technologies.

This co-operation plays on Shell’s expertise in gasification and energy technologies, as well as Wison’s strong experience in project design and engineering.

“Hybrid gasification offers an environmentally sound solution at moderate costs for our customers to efficiently upgrade low-cost feedstock, such as coal, to more valuable products,” said Michiel Mak, vice president for gasification at Shell.

The hybrid gasifiers promise to further expand the market for syngas - the main product of the gasification process - into the chemicals, hydrogen and fertilizer industries.

Liu Haijun, chief operations officer of Wison, said, “As a fast emerging, one-stop engineering service provider, Wison owns both practical experiences and R&D facilities for coal chemical production and operations. The joint R&D and marketing cooperation with Shell is in line with our development strategy. This cooperation will lead to greater success in the future and make further contributions to clean and efficient utilization of China’s vast coal resources.”

Shi Xiaoli, clean coal director of Shell Companies in China, said, “R&D collaborations with Chinese partners to advance technology are key priorities of Shell’s strategy in China. This allows us to leverage the strong capabilities of our Chinese partners and grow business together. The new contract with Wison is an important building block towards our strategic goals.”

The “hybrid” technology, known as “dry-feed, bottom-water quench,” integrates various aspects of Shell’s novel coal gasification design with state-of-the-art bottom-water quench technology. The technology allows processing for a wider range of coal feedstock, offers a simplified design at lower cost, and could therefore offer more competitive solutions for customers.