WV Coal-based Roofing Shingle Concept Wins $225,000 SBIR Phase I Award From U.S. DOE

September 17, 2018
By: Bill Easter,  Semplastics, X-Mat

Semplastics (Oviedo, FL) is delighted to announce that it has won a $225,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the initial development and validation of its patented X-MAT coal core composite roof shingles.
 
The X-MAT material, a composite made of polymer derived ceramic (PDC) and West Virginia bituminous coal, enables the beneficial use of coal without burning it.
 
Semplastics has formed a West Virginia company doing business as X-MAT CCC.  X-MAT is currently working with the Center for Applied Research and Technology, Inc. (CART) in Bluefield, WV and TechConnect WV as part of their NextUp WV program to build a coal-based West Virginia business.
 
“This disruptive technology is important because it offers a way to use coal to make roof shingles that are twice as strong as conventional shingles at less than half the weight,” Bill Easter, the founder of Semplastics said.
 
Easter added that X-MAT shingles also offer good UV stability, low water absorption and high sound dampening properties, making it an ideal roofing material for the solar panel industry.
 
Reports have indicated that the lifespan of a solar installation will typically reach 20 years. Industry experts report a faster degradation of roofing structures that receive a solar installation.  For asphalt roofs, the lifespan will fall to less than 20 years for those that receive solar installations.
 
Semplastics views this gap as an opportunity for X-MAT roof shingles. With the SBIR Phase I award, they expect to develop various types of X-MAT roof shingles for the market. 
 
“The $225,000 SBIR Phase I award from the DOE will enable us to build the next generation roof shingle for the solar industry. Since the X-Mat material uses up to 60% coal, the roof shingles will support jobs in the coal industry and jumpstart domestic manufacturing of ceramic tiles,” stated Easter. “Greater than 98% of the ceramic tiles in the U.S. market are imported, so we hope to receive additional government support and continued investor interest.”  The residential solar industry, on average, has been growing by 50% annually for the last decade, thus the market focus by Semplastics appears to be quite promising.
 
In addition to roof shingles, Easter said that this unique material has demonstrated application potential in bearings, substrates for high end mirrors, proppants for hydraulic fracturing and most recently, as electrode materials for lithium ion and lead acid batteries.

For more information about Semplastics and the X-Mat roof shingles, contact Bill Easter 407-353-6885, wgeaster@semplastics.com, or X-materials.com/News.