General Electric said on Nov. 17 it had signed a preliminary pact with China's largest coal company Shenhua Group to develop clean coal technology in the Asian giant.
"Each business would contribute existing technology, operational and service expertise to create a comprehensive gasification and cleaner coal technology and service provider in China," GE Power and Water chief executive Steve Bolze said, without releasing financial details of the agreement.
The joint venture with Shenhua was aimed at improving the "cost and performance of commercial scale gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle solutions", the statement said.
General Electric hopes to finalize the deal with Shenhua in the first half of 2010.
In September, Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell signed an agreement with a unit of Shenhua to jointly develop clean coal technology.
China, considered by some scientists to be the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has been trying to include more clean energy in its consumption mix.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
