Once common in the industrial, transportation, residential, and commercial sectors, coal in the United States has mainly been used to generate electricity for the last forty years.

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But with demand for coal declining as cleaner-burning alternatives, hit historically low prices , coal producers had to either prepare for the worst or adapt to survive. Luckily, in terms of innovation, scientists have found entirely new uses for the mineral that could fuel a new carbon-based high-tech manufacturing industry.

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In the US, efforts are already underway to convert coal into advanced materials, such as carbon fibers, graphene-based medical devices, and even carbon resins, which can be used in advanced manufacturing such as 3D printing. The big potential of coal has not gone unnoticed by carbon tech company Ramaco Carbon . Since 2014, the firm has pioneered the concept of creating a “Carbon Valley” in which coal’s low-cost carbon, together with new […]

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