West Virginia Executive Spring/Summer 2020 | Page 42

gets hot sees any water or salt. That eliminates
corrosion.”
Touchstone Research Laboratories is
also developing protection systems for
rockets to allow them to be launched in
any weather conditions.
“All rockets are covered with thermal
protection systems on the outside to protect
from extreme temperatures,” says Joseph.
“We’ve invented the first one that also
protects from lightning, so rockets can
be launched in any weather.”
Joseph launched Touchstone Research
Laboratories in the basement of a monastery
with a scanning electron microscope
he bought for $100 and a dream. Forty
years later, the company is a leader in
innovation and aspires to continue moving
the state’s economy forward.
“I think we, as a state and as a country,
are coming to the realization that the
coal-to-products market is essential not
only to the coal industry but to the advanced
materials of the 21st century,” he
says. “We are presented with a challenge
to our imagination. The opportunity in
front of us is to reinvent the way we think
of coal to create an even better future.” •
Ramaco Carbon
By Samantha Cart
As researchers continue to look for alternative
ways to use coal that reach beyond
energy generation, West Virginia stands
out as a prime location for their facilities. In
January, Governor Jim Justice announced
during his State of the State address that
Wyoming-based carbon technology company
Ramaco Carbon would be opening a
new research facility in the West Virginia
Technology Park in South Charleston.
The lab will be used to advance early-stage
research on harnessing the carbon found
in coal to create products such as carbon
fiber, graphene and graphite at a lower cost.
“We will be conducting bench-level testing
that relates to our carbon fiber research at
the South Charleston facility,” says Randall
Atkins, Ramaco chairman and CEO. “We
envision working in that facility until we
outgrow it. As we expand from the lab to
pilot testing, we are exploring other places
in Charleston and around the state where
we might be able to put a pilot facility.”
Creating new markets for coal and increasing
demand will be a huge boost to West
Virginia’s economy. While the facility was
positioned to start operations in March, the
date was pushed back to this summer due
to the coronavirus pandemic.
In June, Ramaco announced it had formed
a five-year coal-to-products cooperative
research and development agreement with
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the country’s
largest U.S. Department of Energy
science and energy laboratory, to explore
innovations in converting coal to high-value
products and materials.
Chris Deweese
Sharp Shooters Class of 2020!
Charleston
304-343-4126
Morgantown
304-554-3371
Parkersburg
304-485-6584
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE