Coal producer Ramaco Carbon (Sheridan, Wyoming, USA) announced on October 12 that their first phase of construction was the establishment of the ICAM (Carbon Advanced Materials Research Center).
Once completed, the ICAM Research Center will host researchers from various national laboratories, universities, research groups, and strategic manufacturing organizations. They will use carbon in coal as a raw material for third-party manufacturing products and parts, "turning carbon into treasure".
The Advanced Carbon Materials Research Center's offices, research laboratories, and pilot building cover an area of 10,000 square feet. Ramaco Carbon's 3D printing technology will also be developed here. The establishment of the ICAM research facility is the first phase of a carbon technology innovation park, which will also include a carbon-based manufacturing center (iPark) and a Brook mine. As it happens, the ICAM Centre is located near the historic Acme and Monarch coal mines, and since the late 19th century, coal has been mined in the Sheridan area. Once the new site is completed, it will become the world's first vertically integrated coal resource, a research and manufacturing complex.
"ICAM contributes to modernization and the development of the regional economy, as well as innovation throughout the coal industry," said Randall Atkins, CEO of Ramaco Carbon. "The work done here is to transform coal from traditional power generation uses to advanced carbon materials for alternative uses."
ICAM is scheduled to be completed by spring 2019, and Ramaco Carbon will transfer the current Ramaco 3D business to the new plant.