Presentation

The following text was written when it was thought that the II Days would take place in 2020.

The pandemic caused by the Sars-Cov-2 virus forced its postponement, being now summoned for the 17th, 18th and 19th of November 2022.

We look forward to your participation in person or via the internet.

The Organizing Committee

Six years after the first congress “Memórias do Carvão”Memories of Coal”, held in Batalha and Porto de Mós, where the issue of preservation and valorization of the mining and industrial heritage of coal was discussed, it is time for a new look at the subject, now in a framework where the paradigms of energy transition and climate change emerge sharply.

The choice of location

Rio Maior was, during part of the twentieth century, home to an important underground coal exploration (lignite) that supplied, among other industrial customers, the Cachofarra (Setúbal) and Central Tejo (Lisbon) power plants operated by the former UEP and CRGE private companies. Although the technological properties of this coal imposed some limitations on its use, the known reserves have even pointed to the possibility of building, at the mouth of the mine (Espadanal, Rio Maior), of another power plant, a project that has been neglected by other options. Still imposing, although stripped of all their equipment, the most important buildings of the mining complex, where coal was processed, constitute, a remarkable piece of industrial architecture of the decade of 1950.

An ephemeris occasion

Based on a wealth of knowledge about the importance of the Rio Maior lignite deposit acquired over the course of some years of reconnaissance and exploration work, and gathering the necessary capital, it was constituted on September 15, 1920, in a registry office of Oporto, the Sociedade Industrial Carbonífera e Electrotécnica, Lda. (EICEL),whose main objectives were the industrial and commercial exploitation of local coal mines, the commercial and industrial use of lignite and its derivatives and the production of electricity in thermal power plants. With an initial share capital of 450,000 $ 00, EICEL aimed to make Rio Maior, in the not too long term, "a large and prosperous city", It closed in 1969, abandoning mining activities.

New challenges

As the main source of primary energy that has been, and still is in various regions of the world, coal is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with the mobilization of the Society in international conventions such as Paris Agreement (2015) to encourage the elimination of its use, an ambitious and difficult goal at the same time.

Just as new terms and concepts move from lexicon to practice and implementation - read carbon sequestration and decarbonization - new elements and material testimonies are being added, a whole heritage linked to the extraction, transformation and uses of coal among which highlight the mineral-industrial complexes and the power plants, pertinent subjects of the economic, industrial and environmental agendas.

The Conference

In person or online, It is intended to create an informal environment that facilitates an intense exchange of knowledge and experiences between guests and participants, in an international involvement, dimension compatible with the transversally and universality of the two (apparently antagonistic) anchors of the journeys: environment and decarbonization, and coal and industrial memories. ambiente e descarbonização e carvão e memórias industriais.

Location of the Conferences