NewStream Energy Technologies Group Inc (NSGP)

[White Coal]

-NETL RESEARCHER TO DISCUSS WYOMING INNOVATION CENTER PROJECT-

October 06, 2022
NETL’s Christina Lopano, Ph.D., will participate in a webinar Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 2-3 p.m. ET, highlighting important NETL-led rare earth element (REE) research at the Wyoming Innovation Center (WyIC) in Gillette, Wyoming.

Lopano will join experts from government and academia for a panel to discuss the creation of the WyIC, current and upcoming projects and the impact the Center’s work will have on emerging market opportunities and innovative methods to use domestic coal resources in the growing clean energy economy.

“The facility opened its doors this summer, and we are excited to continue our collaboration there with the community of Gillette and the University of Wyoming,” Lopano said. “This webinar will help publicize NETL’s work demonstrating economically viable production of REEs from coal-related feedstocks. This research is intended to culminate in a pilot-scale facility at the Center and has the potential to launch a new industry in extracting critical REE materials from the ash of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coals.”

Wyoming is the nation’s top coal producer, with significant potential to recover REEs from its coal resources. This prospective new industry could ultimately be an economic development opportunity for Wyoming while providing national security benefits. REEs are crucial for a variety of economic, energy and defense applications, but the current supply chain is dominated by other countries. A domestic source of REEs would insulate the U.S. from disruptions in global trade.

“We plan to scale up the extraction technologies we’ve previously developed in the laboratory and deploy those technologies in a small pilot facility,” Lopano said. “This will be a significant step toward commercialization of critical minerals from coal by-products in the United States.”

https://netl.doe.gov/node/12126