X-MAT ® constructs partial wall made entirely from coal-derived components

Building components are durable, nontoxic, light weight, fire resistant  

BLUEFIELD, WV (Jan. 10, 2022) – If you’ve ever built a masterpiece out of Legos, you know it always begins with a single block.

X-MAT® is on a mission to build its own masterpiece out of a surprising material that will revolutionize the construction industry. The company is in the process of creating a building made entirely from coal-based materials – From the structural columns to walls to roof tiles.

This dream is quickly becoming a reality with the recent development of a partial wall made up of building components created entirely from coal mixed with X-MAT®’s propriety resin. This wall represents what’s to come for the future coal building. Its coal-derived materials are extremely strong, non-toxic, fire resistant and lightweight, making them a better, safer alternative to their traditional counterparts.

“X-MAT® is coal reimagined,” said Bill Easter, Founder of X-MAT®. “Our team is turning an under-valued material into a treasure that will support sustainable living. Our research and development will result in quality, safer buildings for people and job creation for the coal and construction industries while also sequestering large amounts of CO2.”

To help achieve its goal, the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) awarded X-MAT® a $625K grant to design and plan a building made primarily out of coal-derived components. In the next phase of development X-MAT will build a larger demonstration building showcasing and integrating their building materials alongside other existing coal-to-product technologies.

To learn more about X-MAT®, visit https://www.x-matccc.com

About X-MAT CCC:

Founded in 2020, X-MAT CCC is the result of the successful research and development of Coal-Derived Building Materials. We are changing the narrative on coal and from our manufacturing pilot line located in the Bluefield Commercialization Station we are excited to continue to grow this technology to greater scales of demonstration.

X-MAT® is a high-performance material that combines some of the best properties of metals (electrical conductivity), engineering plastics (lightweight) and ceramics (high operating temperature). X-MAT® technology has been utilized in partnership with NASA, Space Florida and the NETL. This game changing material has various current applications including fireproof roof tiles, lightweight space mirrors, battery electrodes and 3D printed ceramics. X-MAT® technology can be custom engineered to fit many specifications and has unlimited potential market applications. To learn more about X-MAT® capabilities and future projects, visit its website at www.x-matccc.com or call (407)353-6885.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Senator Joe Manchin receive update on X-MAT CCC’s coal Innovations

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MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (June 9, 2021) – U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) received an update on X-MAT CCC’s efforts to develop coal-derived building materials, which will be used to construct a home completely from coal.

X-MAT CCC was invited to exhibit at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy at West Virginia University on June 4. The exhibition was also attended by Secretary Granholm and Senator Manchin. X-MAT CCC is working on innovative projects to use coal from West Virginia and other coal states to manufacture building materials that are more eco-friendly and stronger than their traditional counterparts.

“We were so honored to have Secretary Granholm and Senator Manchin stop by our table and actually hold one of our prototype building blocks,’’ said Bill Easter, founder of X-MAT CCC.

X-MAT CCC, based in Bluefield, West Virginia, is working to create both coal-derived roof tiles and structural building materials to build a home made completely from coal. The company has attracted interest from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, receiving $6 million in grants and contracts to fund its revolutionary research.

Most recently, the company earned a $625,000 contract from the NETL to create the coal-derived building materials needed to construct the house. It has also received a $1.4 million contract to create new uses for coal waste, a $1.5 million grant for X-TILES™ and a nearly $1 million contract to help fund the research for utilizing coal in battery materials.

“The research we’re conducting today is crucial for the long-term viability of coal,” said Easter. “It could one day be used to generate thousands of jobs in West Virginia and other coal regions.”

The company hopes to have a partial coal house constructed by 2023.

X-MAT CCC is a sister company to Orlando-based X-MAT, a client company of the UCF Innovation District at Research Park. To learn more about X-MAT®, visit https://www.x-materials.com.

About X-MAT®, the Advanced Materials Division of Semplastics
X-MAT®, the Advanced Materials Division of Semplastics, launched in 2013. X-MAT® developed a revolutionary, high-performance material that combines some of the best properties of metals (electrical conductivity), engineering plastics (lightweight) and ceramics (high operating temperature). X-MAT® has had several partnerships including work with NASA, Space Florida and the NETL. X-MAT®’s game-changing material has various current applications including fireproof roof tiles, lightweight space mirrors, battery electrodes and 3D printed ceramics. X-MAT® technology can be custom-engineered to fit many specifications and has unlimited potential market applications. To learn more about X-MAT® capabilities and future projects, visit their website at https://www.x-materials.com or call (407)353-6885.

Source: https://incubator.ucf.edu/us-energy-secretary-jennifer-granholm-senator-joe-manchin-receive-update-on-x-mat-cccs-coal-innovations/

DOE Invests $8.7 Million to Foster New Uses for Domestic Coal Resources

AOI-1:   Coal-Derived Components for Residential or Commercial Buildings

Five projects were selected under this AOI, which are described below:

Light, High-Performance and Scalable Coal-Derived Composites for Construction: Precast and Cast-in-Place Applications — C-Crete Technologies LLC (Houston, TX) plans to produce coal-based construction materials that have up to 95% coal by weight with physical, chemical and thermal properties exceeding ordinary Portland cement (OPC). This project will minimize external binders by implementing novel mixing techniques via atomizing nozzles and will demonstrate a semi-continuous production process for precast product via design and fabrication of a bench-scale process. This novel scalable technology can convert all coal ranks to building materials with coal content up to 95% weight of the mix and overall processing cost as low as under $10 per ton.

Funding: DOE: $500,000; Non-DOE: $125,000; Total: $625,000

Coal-Derived Alternatives to Fiber-Cementitious Building Materials — Ohio University (Athens, OH) plans to develop coal-based siding materials for residential and commercial building cladding applications. This project will conduct bench-scale coal extrusion trials to assess material properties and technical feasibility for siding and related applications, as well as develop molecular dynamic simulations to predict properties of coal siding materials. The coal siding will grow the domestic coal value chain, adding new coal demand while supporting the maintenance of current coal industry jobs and generating new manufacturing jobs.

Funding: DOE: $500,000; Non-DOE: $125,000; Total: $625,000

Coal-Based Bricks & Blocks: Process Development to Prototype Fabrication Coupled with Techno-Economic Analysis and Market Survey — Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA) plans to form coal-based bricks and blocks using anthracite and plastic waste binder. Penn State will provide a detailed technology analysis showing what additional research and development is necessary to scale up or commercialize the technology. Economic growth potential provides social benefits such as the creation of new mining and manufacturing jobs, especially in regions adversely impacted by a downturn in coal production and coal-based power generation.

Funding: DOE: $499,713; Non-DOE: $125,060; Total: $624,773

High-Performance Coal-Based Commercial Façade Panels and Architectural Components- Semplastics EHC LLC (Orlando, FL) plans to develop and prove the viability of a new class of composite architectural panel materials that use coal as the primary constituent. This project aims to produce prototype rigid-board panels similar in size to commercial alternatives, generate test data demonstrating superior performance, and establish a plan to scale up production while validating that commercial cost targets can be met. The project plans to secure and consistent channel for the use of coal in building materials, which would not only contribute to sustaining mining jobs, but would also support the full coal supply chain, including transport.

Funding: DOE: $498,700; Non-DOE: $125,342; Total: $624,042

Eco-Friendly High-Performance Building Material Development from Coal — The University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY) plans to develop coal-derived carbon building materials from Powder River Basin coal pyrolysis products. Two proposed building components containing less than 70% carbon are char-based concrete brick (CCB) and carbon-based structural unit (CSU). Products have the potential to be transformational, manufactured at low cost with minimal carbon footprint, in accord with industry standards. There is potential market volume of over $483 million for CCB from 3.61 million tons coal, and over $563 million for CSU from 1.1 million tons coal.

Funding: DOE: $467,620; Non-DOE: $116,879; Total: $584,499

AOI 2:    Coal-Derived Components for Infrastructure Applications

Three projects were selected under this AOI, which are described below:

Coal Plastic Composite Piping Infrastructure Components — Ohio University (Athens, OH) plans to develop coal plastic composite (CPC) formulations containing at 70% carbon by weight carbon and 51% coal by weight that offer cost, performance and environmental benefits over existing plastic pipe infrastructure materials. CPC piping has lower manufacturing costs and equivalent or superior properties compared to existing plastic piping. CPC manufacturing could generate new U.S. coal demand of over three million tons annually, along with new manufacturing jobs.

Funding: DOE: $500,000; Non-DOE: $125,000; Total: $625,000

Low Weight, High Strength Coal-Based Building Materials for Infrastructure Products — Semplastics EHC LLC (Orlando, FL) plans to develop and prove the viability of a new class of composite materials for infrastructure components that use coal as the primary constituent. The potential outcome will result in a secure and consistent channel for use of coal in building materials. Components will be lighter and stronger than commercial equivalents, allowing greater architectural design freedom as structural components, along with greater durability and polish capability, are expected to lead to premium prices.

Funding: DOE: $497,688; Non-DOE: $126,000; Total: $623,688

Utilizing Coal-Derived Solid Carbon Materials Towards Next-Generation Smart and Multifunction Pavements — The University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN) plans to develop and demonstrate a field-deployable, multifunctional smart pavement system made from domestic coal-derived solid carbon materials. The use of coal-derived solid carbon to build and improve asphalt pavements provides an opportunity to utilize coal resources while improving the quality of asphalt pavements. Potential performance benefits include enabling multi-functionalities to reduce maintenance costs, enable a longer service life and reduce travel delays and costs.

Funding: DOE: $430,000; Non-DOE: $107,500; Total: $537,500

AOI 3:    Coal-Derived High-Value Carbon Products

Four projects were selected under this AOI, which are described below:

Low-Cost Conversion of Coal to Graphene: Bench-Scale Testing, Modeling and Techno-Economical Analysis — C-Crete Technologies (Stafford, TX) plans to demonstrate the techno-economic feasibility of a 250 ton per day manufacturing facility to convert coal to high-quality graphene. C-Crete Technologies will potentially apply and further develop the knowledge on process engineering, in-line monitoring, artificial intelligence and modular industrial design through a bottom-up approach. The high-value graphene, along with the demonstrated high potential for large markets such as concrete, will derive demand for domestic coals, increasing the value chain across the whole coal industry.

Funding: DOE: $500,000; Non-DOE: $125,000; Total: $625,000

Developing a Facile Technology for Converting Domestic U.S. Coal into High-Value Graphene — Universal Matter Ltd (Houston, TX) plans to scale up and attempt to commercialize a breakthrough process, Flash Joule Heating (FJH), to transform different coal grades into high-quality graphene. The main objective of this project is to optimize the process by using artificial intelligence techniques and validate the technical and economic benefits of producing graphene by using different grades of coal as the feedstock for FJH process. The potential outcomes of this project are the capability of producing 1-5 layers-thick high-quality graphene in a green, practical and cost-effective process and the capability to have utility across several market segments.

Funding: DOE: $500,000; Non-DOE: $125,000; Total: $625,000

Lignite-Derived Carbon Materials for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes — The University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) plans to (1) prepare high-performance silicon-carbon (Si-C) composite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using lignite-derived pitch as the main feedstock; (2) identify the optimal pitch from a variety of sources produced by North American coal for LIB anode applications; (3) develop a low-cost and scalable process to make porous and spherical Si-C composite anode materials; (4) evaluate the battery performance of the new Si-C composite anodes and compare with a commercial anode as the benchmark; and (5) investigate the feasibility of making the new Si-C composite anodes at the bench scale. This project will possibly advance the current technology of preparing Si–C anode materials toward a low-cost and high-performance product.

Funding: DOE: $499,815; Non-DOE: $167,650; Total: $667,465

Environmentally Friendly Production of High-Quality and Multifunctional Carbon Quantum Dots from Coal — The University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY) plans to develop an innovative, facile, low-temperature, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly technology for producing high-value coal-derived quantum dots (CQDs). The CQDs will be evaluated for two-example application, such as solar cells for clean energy production and photo catalysis for clean air and health protection. Potential success in the proposed project could open a new way for coal utilization, which may lead to the production of a high-value production from coal but also increase in employment and thus contribute to the sustainable development of the coal-based economy. Only water and pure carbon dioxide are generated as byproducts, the latter of which could be directly collected and marketed.

Funding: DOE: $450,000; Non-DOE: $112,500; Total: $562,500

AOI 4:    Production of Coal-Derived Carbon Foam Using a Continuous, Rather than Batch, Process

One project was selected under this AOI, which is described below:

Continuous Processing of Carbon Foam Products Made from Coal at Atmospheric Pressure — CFOAM LLC (Triadelphia, WV) plans to develop continuous processing of carbon foam products made from coal at atmospheric pressure, utilizing 90-100 coal by weight with at least 80 carbon by weight. The objective is to significantly reduce the cost to manufacture carbon foam through reductions in capital and labor costs, and significantly reduce the manufacturing time from weeks to hours. CFOAM LLC aims to create a basis for large-scale production platform for carbon foam that can be utilized on the order of hundreds of millions of tons of coal in an environmentally safe process. This project will target applications capable of utilizing carbon foam at large scale, transforming “coal” to “carbon ore.”

Funding: DOE: $1,923,680; Non-DOE: $498,122; Total: $2,421,802

AOI 5:    Design, Research and Development, Validation, and Fabrication of a Prototype Carbon-Based Building

One project was selected under this AOI, which is described below:

Modular, Manufactured Homes from Coal-Based Building Materials — X-MAT CCC (Bluefield, WV) plans to establish the utility of Coal-Derived Building Materials (CDBM) licensed from their partner, Semplastics. CDBM components contain at least 55% coal by weight; including the binders within the resin. They contain at least 71% carbon by weight. The proposed work will potentially result in a secure and consistent channel for the use of significant amounts of coal in building materials across North America. Possible advantages include higher percentage of non-toxic fire-resistant materials in residential and commercial homes; faster installation time because of lighter materials; greater design flexibility; and lower total cost and schedule because CDBM can fill both interior and exterior needs.

Funding: DOE: $498,442; Non-DOE: $126,000; Total: $624,442

Source: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/project-selections-doe-invests-87-million-foster-new-uses-domestic-coal-resources

X-MAT aims to produce new value from an old commodity

BLUEFIELD — One company with operations in West Virginia and Florida seeks to make high-tech use of the Mountain State’s most iconic resource and establish new manufacturing jobs in the process.

Dynamic Material Systems, led by husband and wife Bill and Sue Easter, is located in Florida but does business in West Virginia as X-MAT. It’s a composite company that found the Mountain State’s coal to be the missing ingredient for polymer ceramics.

“These polymer-forming ceramics have been around for 40 years, and what we’ve done is move them into bulk sizes and shapes,” Bill Easter explained. “They’re usually used as coatings and fibers, very small-scale kinds of parts. We started a lab about six years ago, and we had a problem where we needed a carbon source, so we tried coal as our carbon source, mixing it with our material, and we got fantastic results. That’s how it all started.”

Unlike other processes, Easter said X-MAT’s manufacturing procedure uses entire particles of coal in its proprietary formulation.

He added that the process sequesters the carbon, meaning it releases no greenhouse gases, and the coal does not burn because of the relatively lower temperatures used.

“There’s lots of coal, and we need all kinds of ways to use it to turn it into products,” Easter said.

The coal and polymer are transformed into a ceramic that can be used as roof tiles that are not only stronger than those on the market, but also lighter — 2-3 times lighter than other ceramic tiles and 4-5 times lighter than those made of metal.

Easter said X-MAT is also exploring the use of coal in lithium battery anode materials because coal has better energy properties than what is currently used in this application.

“Right now, they use graphite in your cellphone,” he explained. “If you drive a hybrid vehicle or use a calculator, your lithium battery would use graphite as the anode material, and now we’re looking to using coal-based anodes. Coal has this reputation as being dirty, but it could be part of the renewables because batteries are the key. That’s the missing piece.”

Easter said that while the company’s research lab is in Florida, X-MAT seeks to set up a manufacturing center in Mercer County’s Bluefield. That, he said, is in order to be close to needed coal supplies. Because of Bluefield’s long history of industry and railroads in support of coal, it was the perfect choice.

Having lived in West Virginia for a time, Easter said the biggest difference between Texas and the Mountain State is that the former turns its oil into chemicals and other products before shipping it out. He wants X-MAT to be part of a value-added chain that manufactures a product while benefiting surrounding communities in West Virginia.

Easter said another critical component of this work with coal is Bruce Mutter, an engineering professor at Bluefield State College and leader of the Center for Applied Research & Technology.

“He’s helping us take it from the R&D stage and turn in production, and he’s fantastic,” Easter said, adding that Mutter made the location in Bluefield possible by knowing the area and local rules and regulations. “He cares deeply about his community, and he really wants to bring business to his area.”

Also moving X-MAT’s work forward is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant that encourages smaller businesses to engage in research that can be useful for government agencies but also has potential for commercialization.

Easter said he received a Phase I grant from the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown. A Phase I grant seeks to establish merit and commercial viability. Easter said he’s now aiming to acquire Phase II funding, which will continue to pay for research and development.

Anne Barth, executive director of the nonprofit business development organization TechConnect WV, said X-MAT is a participant in its NextUp West Virginia program, which offers new and existing companies next-stage commercialization assistance and training.

Barth said this is possible through support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

X-MAT was first brought to Barth’s attention through Mutter and the Center for Applied Research & Technology

“It was exciting to learn about them, not only because their product uses coal in a new way but also because they are familiar with and successful with the SBIR program,” Barth said. “We see this as an emerging advanced material that could be manufactured in West Virginia, and we see that as a positive sign.”

Between X-MAT and Touchstone Laboratories in Ohio County, Barth said West Virginia is seeing multiple examples of how coal can be used beyond power generation.

She also commended X-MAT’s decision to pursue a value-added business model, which represents a reversal of past trends when the raw material was extracted and shipped elsewhere.

Source: https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/x-mat-aims-to-produce-new-value-from-an-old-commodity/article_48b2d50d-6ab8-51ef-bf5f-0e114fb2e4f2.html