supply chain gap in critical materials for electric vehicle ( EV ) batteries and other carbon products .
While the United States stakes out global leadership in important emerging markets , our nation lacks the ability to domestically produce graphite , which is designated as a critical material in the federal government ’ s Energy Act of 2020 . AmeriCarbon ’ s Eco-PitchTM process produces a tailored carbon pitch material that has been processed into battery grade graphite for successful demonstration in battery testing .
“ AmeriCarbon exemplifies the new wave of high value , innovation-based manufacturing emerging in the United States as we bring sustainable manufacturing employment back to our country and region ,” says Andrew Zulauf , executive director of the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust .
Zulauf adds , “ AmeriCarbon fills a critical missing link , enabling a fully domestic supply chain to address the rapidly expanding commercial market demand for carbon-based advanced materials .”
The company ’ s manufacturing demonstration facility in the Morgantown Industrial Park is the nation ’ s only continuous pilot scale facility designed to produce a coal-derived carbon pitch material . Rapidly expanding markets in EV batteries and other carbon products currently depend on existing industrial processes located primarily in China , despite the United States ’ abundance of carbon ore in the form of coal deposits .
Steve Platz , president of Dickinson Fuels Company , one of the early investors and supporters of AmeriCarbon , says , “ As demand grows for strategic materials in commercial and defense applications , a company like AmeriCarbon hits a number of key priorities . It enables the production of graphite and other critical materials while using coal and coal waste as a feedstock , while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions as compared to current industry supply .”
Robert Wentz , founder of Point- Squared Ventures and board member of TechConnect West Virginia , emphasized the broader economic impact of AmeriCarbon , highlighting , “ This opportunity extends downstream of AmeriCarbon ; additional manufacturing companies will be attracted to locate in close proximity to materials supply , enabling the formation of manufacturing clusters in communities that have experienced major economic disruption in recent decades .”
The West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust led the seed investment round , joined by a C . C . Dickinson Family Holdings entity , PointSquared Ventures and other private investors . Zulauf and Platz will serve on the board of directors of AmeriCarbon along with two company founders and an independent industry expert .
WVU Engineers Solve Corrosion Problem in Power Plant Technology
Postdoctoral researcher Lingfeng Zhou .
Postdoctoral researcher Lingfeng Zhou led a four-year study that tested solutions for minimizing the amount of corrosive chromium gas that evaporates from solid oxide fuel cell components during power generation . Two stainless steel alloys that could be used to manufacture certain parts of the fuel cells performed exceptionally well in Zhou ’ s tests .
Zhou explains that a solid oxide fuel cell is , “ a highly efficient energy conversion device that produces electricity directly from versatile fuels — from hydrogen to fossil fuels . The ceramics used in solid oxide fuel cells have to run at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1,000 degrees Celsius . The operating temperature is their largest disadvantage , but they offer high combined heat and power efficiency , long-term stability , fuel flexibility , low emissions and relatively low cost . Because of their high fuel-to-power conversion efficiency and minimal adverse influence on the environment , solid oxide fuel cells have the potential to be a platform for
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