The Australian resources sector stands to benefit from the race to produce a clean coal plant in either Queensland or New South Wales, according to CQUniversity researcher and Mining Program director Colin Greensill.

Dr Col GreensillHe said Australia exports a lot of coal and it is in our interest to export the solution as well.

"If you can sell the raw material and the technology that makes its use clean then that's a much more saleable product," he explained.

"As a country Australia is quite small, but we are also one of the major coal exporters."

Dr Greensill believes we have a lot of well-developed technology in the field but they exist in individual components. It just needs to be put together to make it work.

GE, the world's largest producer of power equipment, has just put its hat in the ‘clean coal' ring saying it wants to build a $3 billion clean coal plant in Australia.