Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is close to signing a deal with Australia's Queenlsand state to build the world's first large low-emission coal power plant, a company official said Friday.

The firm will likely sign a deal with an entity affiliated with the state government and make an announcement as early as this month, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks were still ongoing.

The power plant would feature both coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology and carbon-capture-and-storage (CCS) capability, promising to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 90 percent, he said.

While plants using either technology already exist around the world, a plant combining both would be a world-first, the official said.

IGCC turns coal into gas to burn to generate electricity, resulting in lower emissions. CCS is a technology that solidifies carbon dioxide so it can be stored deep underground rather than enter the atmosphere.

The plant is projected to cost at least 200 billion yen (2.04 billion dollars), the company official said.

Media reports said it is slated to start operating in 2015.

Australia, home to a heavily polluting coal industry, this year launched an institute to develop CCS and other "clean coal" technology.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shares rose 4.6 percent to 409 yen Friday.