News

Marc Levy, Associated Press

MOUNT STORM, W.Va. (AP) — Down a long gravel road, tucked into the hills in West Virginia, is a low-slung building where researchers are extracting essential elements from an old coal mine that they hope will strengthen the nation’s energy future.

By Steven Allen Adams for The Intelligencer

MORGANTOWN — With steam coal being replaced by natural gas and renewables, and a slowdown in metallurgical coal mining for steelmaking, a researcher at West Virginia University sees another use for the state’s coal mines.

West Virginia University, a leader in energy research and innovation, is repositioning the institutes within its Research Office to best meet industry-wide transitions.

The Energy Institute will transform into the WVU Institute for Sustainability and Energy Research, effective July 1, 2023, with Sam Taylor as its director. Taylor will build the new Institute on the foundation of the Energy Institute laid by James Wood.