Electroplated carbon fiber electrodes with noble metals (Pt, Rh, Pt-Rh, Pt-Ir, and Pt-Ir-Rh) are evaluated on a sandwich configuration coal electrolytic cell (CEC) for the electrolysis of coal and graphite under galvanostatic conditions. Among Pt, Rh, Pt-Rh, Pt-Ir, and Pt-Ir-Rh electrodes with the same loading (5 mg/cm of fiber), Pt and Pt-Ir seem to produce the highest CO2 faradic efficiency. Factorial design is used to determine the effect of loading and composition on the electrooxidation of coal and graphite to CO2. The effect of abrasion on the coating of the electrodes is determined by performing weight change analyses. Pt and Pt-Rh electrodes are significantly affected by erosion (above 10% weight loss). The presence of graphite has a positive effect on the electrooxidation of coal to CO2 in a graphite-coal slurry mixture. The energy consumption for the production of hydrogen from the electrolysis of coal is about 22 Wh/g of H2 for all the electrodes tested (50 % lower than that for hydrogen production by electrolysis of water under similar operating conditions). This fact shows that coal electrolysis is a competitive method for in situ hydrogen generation.