X-MAT CCC is building a house completely from clean coal
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.
To download images from the exhibition, click here.