January 17, 2024 - Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has announced that The Center for Applied Research and Technology, Inc. in Bluefield, West Virginia, will receive $100,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon management (FECM). The Center for Applied Research and Technology plans to repurpose retired coal sites, including developing building material components and other useful products made from legacy coal combustion residuals. 

“For generations, West Virginians have made sacrifices that helped power our nation to become the greatest industrial might the world has ever seen. Today’s announcement is a recognition of those sacrifices and an exciting opportunity to find new uses for materials from coal-powered plants that will create new jobs and economic opportunity right here in the Mountain State,” said Chairman Manchin.

Learn more from the U.S. Department of Energy here.