Minister for Energy and Resources Francis Logan announced the agreement between the State Government’s Coal Futures Group and Curtin University of Technology to investigate the establishment of the WA Centre for Carbon Capture and Sequestration.

Logan said the proposed centre would be established to try to unlock technologies that would be better for the environment and emit less greenhouse gases.

“It would look at the potential for carbon capture and storage, or geosequestration, as well as deliver professional and technical training programs in clean coal technology,” he said.

Curtin’s Bentley campus is likely to be the home of the proposed centre, with a base planned for Collie, the home of WA’s coal industry.

The announcement goes some way to ensuring Collie’s coal mining future. Coal Futures Group chairman and Collie MLA Mick Murray said the group had been careful to choose program partners that would best add value to Collie and the coal industry.

Logan said the agreement was part of the State Government’s commitment to create a sustainable coal industry in WA.