Ramaco Carbon has long sought to develop a complex in Wyoming involving the manufacturing, development, and mining of coal. Permit and transparency issues though have caused the company to face pushback and delays.
As it now awaits a decision on its mine permit, the company has connected with Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) in hopes of developing products using carbon from coal.
The company partnered with ORNL, located in Tennessee, because they have experience in material sciences.
"And so that led us to work with them on a number of material type products such as carbon fibers, rayon type carbon fibers, building products, and 3-D printing." said Ramaco CEO Randy Atkins.
Many of the products in development would replace petroleum for manufacturing with coal carbon.
After advocacy groups raised further permit issues, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has to decide whether to grant a mine permit this summer.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Ivy Engel, at iengel@uwyo.edu.