Eco Material Technologies, Rainbow Energy Center partner to recycle coal ash

Eco Material Technologies, a South Jordan, Utah-based producer of sustainable cementitious materials (SCMs) and carbon cement replacement products, has partnered with Bismarck, North Dakota-based Rainbow Energy Center to jointly invest in new beneficiation and harvesting plants at the Coal Creek Station in Underwood, North Dakota.

Eco Material and Rainbow Energy will capture, beneficiate and market coal ash from Coal Creek Station, which the companies say adds to their existing partnership that markets fly ash in the concrete sector.

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“We expect demand for high-quality sustainable cementitious materials, like fly ash and pozzolans, to grow rapidly over the next 10 years, and we are excited to work with Rainbow to provide that for the industry,” says Grant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technologies. “This project is the culmination of a relationship between Eco Material and Coal Creek Station on fly ash beneficial use for over 30 years, and that partnership has only grown since Rainbow's purchase of the facility in 2022. This project marks a key turning point in the SCM market for the region.”

The project will be the second bottom ash beneficiation and harvesting project within Eco Material’s portfolio. The Coal Creek project will provide an additional 400,000 tons of SCMs annually over the next 25 years to service the rapidly growing markets in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Eco Material says. The project will also add to Coal Creek's annual production of 150,000 tons of calcium sulfite into marketable synthetic gypsum for the wallboard industry.

"Rainbow’s vision for Coal Creek Station remains the same today as the day we developed the business plan for the facility,” says Rainbow Energy Center President Stacy Tschider. “Our number one priority will always be to continue to operate Coal Creek Station in the most efficient and environmentally sound way possible.”

Rainbow Energy purchased the 1,051-megawatt, 2-unit station at Coal Creek in 2022. The plant currently produces approximately 500,000 tons of Class F fly ash annually.

“The expanded partnership with Eco Material Technologies enhances the execution of our vision by reducing carbon emissions and our environmental impact while continuing to provide valuable baseload energy to the market,” Tschider says. “We are excited to lead the way in innovation and provide USA-made, recycled products to the concrete industry with Eco Material on this win-win for our companies, our state and the nation.”

Materials harvested from Coal Creek Station will continue to be used in concrete blends to repair and construct bridges, roads and buildings across the region, which Eco Material says will reduce dependence on imported materials and the concrete's carbon footprint.

Eco Material says it will be investing in additional storage terminals across the region to ensure no winter ash is discarded and customers have the materials they need for projects in the shorter summer season. The beneficiation plants at Coal Creek and the new regional storage terminals are expected to be completed in 2025. In addition to construction and other temporary jobs, more than 20 full-time jobs will be created for the operation of the facilities.

Eco Material has a portfolio of nine plants, which it says represent more than 4 million tons annually of novel, beneficiated SCMs and green cement products.