X-MAT awarded $1.5M for coal roof tiles

Known for its ongoing research into manufacturing homes from coal waste, Florida-based Semplastics announced Aug. 5 that its advanced materials division X-MAT received a grant of $1.5 million from the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory to continue the research and development of its coal roof tile X-TILE.

This funding is a follow-on grant that will be used to expand on a previous grant the company received from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which focused on coal core composites for low-cost, lightweight, fire-resistant panels and roofing materials.

"The X-TILE is coal reimagined," said Bill Easter, founder of Semplastics and X-MAT. "We're honored to receive this follow-on grant from the DOE to continue the revolutionary work our team is accomplishing."

In total, NETL has been supporting Semplastics and X-MAT with upwards of $6 million in grants and contracts to continue its work of creating new uses for coal waste, including research to turn coal into battery materials.

This most recent grant provides the funding necessary to move this technology toward commercialization by building a pilot manufacturing line in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Along with its coal roof tiles, X-MAT is currently working on other coal-derived building materials with the mission to eventually construct a complete home almost entirely out of coal-derived building materials. Soon, the company expects to be able to use coal to create structural columns, facades, bricks, and many more crucial elements in construction.

X-MAT even expects the future pilot to help develop avenues for providing tiles with different colors, finishes, and textures.

To date, all of X-MAT's coal-derived building materials are fire-resistant, non-toxic, lightweight, and durable, making them not only safer than their traditional counterparts but easier to use. The company hopes to have a partial coal house constructed by 2023.