The company, which is primarily involved in power generation and wastewater recovery, today announced it had been selected by the US Department of Energy as the recipient of a grant that would fund further R&D on the technology.

The grant will go to the UPA, a JV between ThermoEnergy and European company ITEA which specializes in a flameless oxy-combustion process that burns coal under high pressure in highly purified oxygen.

The basic principle of the technology is the burning of coal at very high pressures in highly-purified oxygen, unlike conventional coal plants, which use normal air pressure.

ThermoEnergy says it results in increased efficiency of power plants and the controlled capture of pollutants, such as climate-changing CO2, before being released into the atmosphere.

The US DOE has tightened pollution regulations for coal plants and has proposed to limit CO2 emissions from power plants.

ThermoEnergy says UPA’s technology will enable existing plants to fall into line with these regulations, as well as the forecast tougher legislations that are anticipated.

The company said retrofitting coal plants with pressurized oxy-combustion technology represented a $65 billion potential market.

“We are proud that the US Department of Energy has recognized the potential of the efforts of our newly formed joint venture with ITEA,” ThermoEnergy chairman and chief executive officer Cary Bullock said.

UPA managing director Robert Marrs said: “The grant will enable us to boost the efficiency of the technology and to improve its ability to capture CO2.”

Other participants in the UPA program include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology.