I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's quite puzzling.
China May Halt Coal-to-Liquids Projects
10 JUNE 2007
Xinhua. China may halt its coal-to-liquids projects, according to an official with the country's top economic planning agency.
The consideration came after evaluation of the nation's limited energy resources and its technological environment, a deputy director of the industry department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told a seminar on China's fuel ethanol development, held in Beijing on Saturday.
"Liquefied coal projects consume a lot of energy, though the successful industrialization of liquefied coal could help reduce the country's dependence on petroleum," said the official who declined to be named.
[...]
The unnamed NDRC official at the fuel ethanol seminar said that China had begun its coal liquefaction projects without trial industrialization operation, and that the technologies involved were not sophisticated enough yet.
The fuel ethanol seminar was hosted by Chinese Academy of Engineering with sponsorship from Denmark-based Novozymes.
