The UD Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a funding of $122m to establish coal products innovation centers.
The centers will manufacture value-added, carbon-based products from coal as well as develop new methods to extract and process rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal.
The department expects to provide funding to innovation centers in a many of the US coal producing basins.
the Appalachian basin, the San Juan River-Raton-Black Mesa basin, and the Green River-Wind River basin are some of the basins that will hold the centers.
The public-private innovation centers will research and incubate innovative mining, beneficiation, processing, and purification technologies, which are environmentally sustainable.
Carbon Ore, Rare Earths, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative will fund the innovation centers
DOE said that centers will provide a foundation to educate the next generation of technicians, skilled workers, and science, technology, engineering, as well as for mathematics professionals.
DOE Energy secretary Dan Brouillette said: “It’s vitally important that America develop a viable domestic supply of rare earth elements, critical minerals, and other valuable products from our vast coal resources.
“This effort moves us closer to that goal. The Trump Administration has been aggressively investing in research and development for novel uses of coal that have the potential to create new markets for coal and coal byproducts.
“Sustaining domestic coal production creates new economic opportunity for coal state economies and benefits the Nation.”
The new Carbon Ore, Rare Earths, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative, sponsored by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, will provide funding for the innovation centers.
The department said that the financing will be made available through one or more Funding Opportunity Announcements issued by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).
Fossil Energy assistant secretary Steven Winberg said: “These planned innovation centers and other efforts supported by the new CORE-CM initiative will build on the amazing work that NETL and our partners have been doing for years on rare earth elements, critical minerals, and value-added products from coal.”
