The EERC has been involved in research and development of energy technologies for over 50 years and is the world's leading research and development center for coal, with special emphasis on low-rank coal. EERC research and development programs are designed to embrace all aspects of energy-from-coal technologies from cradle to grave, beginning with fundamental resource characterization and ending with waste utilization or disposal.

Today's energy and environmental needs typically require the expertise of a total-systems team that can focus on technical details while retaining a broad perspective. The EERC team has more than five decades of basic and applied research experience producing energy from all ranks of coal.

The EERC has established a strong network of experience to understand and improve current coal-fired power plants and other electric generation. The EERC is committed to meeting customer needs by providing solutions to a wide array of operational problems in order to improve performance of today's utilities. EERC capabilities include:

• Bench-, lab-, and pilot-scale simulations and test burns focused on performance and environmental issues
• Modeling to optimize the clean and efficient operation of all conventional boilers
• Advanced analytical methods to support the fastest, most detailed understanding of coal-based technology
• Extensive field testing capabilities to verify environmental performance of coal-based power systems
• Applied and fundamental research on the engineering aspects and environmental effects of carbon-based fuels combustion and gasification including:
• Ash and slag chemistry
• Inorganic transformations
• Ash deposition
• Coal combustion chemistry
• Corrosion/erosion mechanisms
• Fuels evaluation