Through gasification, a solid feedstock is partially oxidized with oxygen and steam to produce syngas which can be used for conversion into different valuable compounds (e.g. hydrogen) or to generate power in a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT). Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is one of power generation technologies having the highest potential for carbon capture with low penalties in efficiency and cost. This paper assesses from technical point of view the transformation, through gasification, of coal with or without addition of renewable energy sources or solid waste into decarbonised energy vectors (power, hydrogen) simultaneous with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Investigated plant concepts produce a flexible ratio of power and hydrogen in the range of 400 MW electricity and 0-200 MW hydrogen with 90% carbon capture rate. The paper describes the methodology to evaluate the plant performances using critical design factors like: fuel selection criteria, choice of gasification reactor, heat and power integration, flexibility analysis, carbon capture and storage (CCS), H(2) and CO(2) quality specifications considering the use of hydrogen in transport sector (fuel cells) and carbon dioxide storage in geological formation or using for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). (C) 2009 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.