DOE to provide up to $14M into cost shared R&D for advanced coal processing
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy, along with the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL), recently opened a large funding opportunity for the coal industry.
With a $14 million investment into cost-shared research and development, the organizations seek advanced coal processing technologies, focused on five areas: coal-derived components for residential or commercial buildings, coal-derived components for infrastructure applications, coal-derived high-value carbon products, coal-derived carbon foam produced with a continuous process and the design, R&D, validation and fabrication of a prototype carbon-based building.
The funding opportunity announcement released this week is focused on improving coal feedstocks for power production and steel making, crafting high-value solid products from coal, and identifying alternative technologies that would allow the production of high-performance carbon material from coal. All will be managed by NETL.
In terms of residential or commercial use, the FOA seeks R&D of coal-derived products for use as building materials and infrastructure components, a sort of manufacturing feedstock capable of applicable use, like carbon foam, roofing tiles or tiles.
Infrastructure would be broadened to structural components for mass transit, materials for roads and bridges, and similar efforts. High-value carbon products could be things that have electronics, mechanical, chemical, or surface properties — conductive inks or enhanced textiles, for example. The carbon foam being sought would be produced as a continuous rather than batch process — a means of integrating coal into industries that typically don’t have anything to do with it. The building effort will see a full mockup of a building with fully incorporated emerging coal-derived building materials to see if coal can address the residential and commercial market at a value higher than that of traditional thermal coal.
