CHEYENNE, WYOMING—The Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) announced today that Governor Gordon had approved eleven separate projects to receive Energy Matching Funds (EMF). This announcement includes awards for three projects from Round 5 of funding and eight projects from Round 6 that total $36,395,916 of state investment, leveraging total project costs of $177,662,724 from outside investments. The companies receiving awards are HF Sinclair, 8 Rivers, PacifiCorp, Disa Technologies, KMX Technologies, Meriden Carbon, Prabhu Energy, Ramaco Resources, UW School of Energy Resources (for two separate projects), and X Oil Development.
Since 2022, the Wyoming State Legislature has appropriated $155 million in funds to the Office of the Governor in an effort to leverage Wyoming-based energy projects receiving federal or private funding. The Governor delegated the management of the Energy Matching Funds (EMF) to the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA). The projects must meet the criteria set forth by the legislature to be eligible for funding: for research, demonstration, pilot projects or commercial deployment projects related to Wyoming energy needs, including but not limited to carbon capture utilization and storage, carbon dioxide transportation, industrial carbon capture, coal refinery, and hydrogen production, transportation, storage, hydrogen hub development, biomass, biochar, hydropower, lithium, processing and separation, battery storage or wind and solar energy.
“I have been steadfast in my support of the Energy Matching Funds because they have cemented our state’s leadership when it comes to energy, and they are an investment in our state’s economic and energy future,” Governor Gordon said. “These projects include efforts to help keep our coal plants operating, expand our critical mineral industries and maintain Wyoming’s leadership position in the energy industries that are the bedrock of our economy.”
“Recently, there has been a lot of inaccurate chatter about what the Energy Matching Funds have or have not funded in Wyoming,” said Rob Creager, Executive Director of the Wyoming Energy Authority. “Let me set the record straight. To date, we have funded 27 projects in the state, with 88% of these projects benefiting the fossil fuel and mining industries, 8% to nuclear and 4% to renewables. Of the projects we are announcing today, 100% of the funds are going back to the fossil fuel and mining sectors. We are proud to continue to help these critical Wyoming energy powerhouses continue to innovate and advance their fields in order to keep our state and our nation at the forefront of energy dominance.”
HF Sinclair has been awarded $4.7 million for its Fuel Production Enhancement and Technology Upgrade Project. The energy company, headquartered in Dallas, TX, will be using the funds to implement a major technology upgrade in the gasoline-producing unit at its Parco Refinery in Sinclair, Wyoming. This work will extend the unit’s lifespan and increase refining capacity at the Parco Refinery, which consumes crude oil produced within Wyoming.
“With more than 700 employees across the state, HF Sinclair is proud to operate in Wyoming,” said Valerie Pompa, Executive Vice President, Operations, HF Sinclair Corporation. “We appreciate the thoughtful investment on behalf of the Wyoming Energy Authority in the state’s legacy energy industry. With this award, we will implement a major technology upgrade in the gasoline-producing unit at the Parco refinery, resulting in more in-state gasoline production. We believe funding this project demonstrates Wyoming’s long-term commitment to maintaining refining jobs that underpin the livelihoods of families and communities in Wyoming.”
8 Rivers, a Durham, North Carolina–based energy company, has been awarded $1.5 million for a pre-FEED study of its AFC-Carbon (AFC-C), which is based on the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle—a transformative low-carbon power cycle for solid fuels. The technology captures nearly 100% of the carbon dioxide produced during energy generation, which can then be used for enhanced oil recovery to help unlock stranded assets in Wyoming wells. AFC-C is designed to harness the full potential of Wyoming’s abundant coal resources while utilizing advanced emission control systems.
President and Chief Development Officer of 8 Rivers Damian Beauchamp stated, “At 8 Rivers, we recognize the critical role technology plays in strengthening Wyoming’s energy independence and economic resilience. By deploying cutting-edge innovations, we can enhance efficiency, create high-quality jobs, and drive long-term growth in the state’s energy sector. Wyoming has a proud history of energy leadership, and we are grateful for the Wyoming Energy Authority’s commitment to advancing the state’s energy future. Their leadership is essential in ensuring Wyoming remains a powerhouse for innovation and economic opportunity.”
PacifiCorp has been awarded $6,278,076.68 for its Jim Bridger Carbon Capture Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study for a full-scale amine-based carbon capture facility to remove 90 percent or more of the carbon dioxide from flue gas emissions at Jim Bridger units 3 and 4. The project will include the evaluation of processing the flue gas to achieve pipeline-ready CO2 and the transportation and storage of the CO2, which has the potential to capture approximately 89 metric tons of CO2 over its lifespan.
“We are pleased and honored with the award of these matching funds,” said Craig Eller, Senior Vice President, Resource Strategy & Development for PacifiCorp. “This will greatly assist our continuing work to evaluate the potential economic benefits of carbon capture on existing coal-powered resources on behalf of our Wyoming customers and in compliance with Wyoming’s requirements.”
The Mills, WY-based Disa Technologies, has been awarded $8,516,625 for its project that uses High-Pressure Slurry Ablation–a patented, innovative approach to mineral processing that provides a more cost-effective and efficient alternative to existing mineral liberation solutions. As a platform technology, High-Pressure Slurry Ablation can process a wide range of critical minerals and materials, including uranium, rare earth elements, vanadium, lithium, graphite, zinc, gold, phosphate, nickel, and copper. With its award, Disa will engineer, manufacture, demonstrate and deploy ten commercial-scale High-Pressure Slurry Ablation units. With all unit manufacturing done in-state, the project will invest over $7.3 million with Wyoming vendors and suppliers.
“Disa Technologies is honored to receive this critical investment from the Wyoming Energy Authority, which will drive job creation, expand advanced manufacturing opportunities and generate tax revenue—further solidifying Wyoming’s leadership in cutting-edge energy innovation,” said Disa Technologies CEO & President Greyson Buckingham. “With this support, we are accelerating the commercialization of our High-Pressure Slurry Ablation technology, enhancing efficiency and competitiveness in mineral processing and mine remediation. We are deeply grateful to the Wyoming Energy Authority staff and Board of Directors, Governor Mark Gordon and the many organizations and stakeholders whose support made this milestone possible.”
KMX Technologies, which specializes in zero-waste solutions for water, lithium, and critical minerals has been awarded $543,543 for its project at Ur-Energy’s Lost Creek ISR Uranium facility. The project involves installing demonstration-scale Vacuum Membrane Distillation technology, a thermally driven membrane separation process that uses hydrophobic membranes under vacuum to recover water from wastewater streams, resulting in high-quality water that can be reused. Ur-Energy intends to develop 12 mine units at the Lost Creek Mine, where KMX will collect data to confirm the technology’s viability as an alternative to deep well injection.
“Through this important partnership, the KMX team is proud to support American uranium and nuclear security while enhancing Wyoming’s economic development,” said Zachary Sadow, CEO of KMX Technologies. “The KMX team thanks Governor Gordon, the Wyoming Energy Authority, and Ur-Energy for the opportunity to bring our technology to the State of Wyoming.”
John Cash, CEO and Chairman of the Board for Ur-Energy Inc., stated, “We are pleased that the WEA has agreed to provide their support to further enhance wastewater management technology at our Lost Creek Mine through the installation of KMX Technologies’ vacuum membrane distillation. We look forward to working with the WEA and KMX in demonstrating this technology in the in-situ uranium industry in Wyoming.”
Meriden Carbon, a partnership of energy industrial professionals and Wyoming ranchers, has been awarded $2,758,704 for its Steamboat Carbon Storage Hub in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin of Laramie County. The project funding will be used to drill a stratigraphic test well and acquire seismic to characterize the geologic storage complex at Steamboat. Current storage estimates suggest the northern DJ basin in Laramie County will provide a giga-ton scale carbon storage solution for permanent, geologic storage of billions of tons of CO2 – all below existing oil and gas-bearing formations. This Project could ensure that facilities like the Laramie River Station (along with the Wyoming mining, transportation, and service businesses supporting it) remain viable, delivering dependable baseload power to meet growing energy demands while also providing enhanced oil recovery opportunities by building CO2 infrastructure to support the Wyoming oil and gas industry.
“We are honored to receive this support from the Wyoming Energy Authority for the Steamboat Carbon Storage Hub,” said Meriden Founder and CEO Jeff Kummer. “Ours is a Wyoming-grown effort where a group of landowners have banded together to unlock a wave of economic opportunities—from enhanced oil recovery to new energy projects like power plants and data centers. This grant, matched with federal funding, allows us to prove over a million acres of potential, ensuring Wyoming remains a leader in energy innovation while diversifying our economy. This is a grassroots effort with global impact, and we’re proud to break the trail for our state.”
Prabhu Energy has been awarded $2.5 million for its Oil Field Flare Gas Energy Systems (OFFGASES). This four-year cooperative project with Prabhu Energy Labs, the United States Department of Energy, and Jonah Energy will be conducted at Jonah Energy’s Upper Green River Basin Stud Horse Butte Central Delivery Point. The project will demonstrate the ability to eliminate methane emissions and other waste gases that would otherwise be combusted, flared, or vented by using the “Power Oxiperator” system that oxidizes waste gas and converts it to electrical power, eliminating at least 95% of emissions of methane, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and monoxide. In 2024, Prabhu received an award of $456,450 for a separate project, also in conjunction with Jonah Energy.
Edan Prabhu, CEO and Founder of Prabhu Energy Labs commented, “Prabhu Energy Labs thanks the Wyoming Energy Authority for this matching grant. Together with the grant from the DOE, this project will develop ways to recover energy from waste gases without creating new emissions. Our Oxiperator is a simple, highly effective means to achieve this.”
Ramaco Resources, Inc., has been awarded $6,098,969 for its Wyoming CORE (Carbon Ore Rare Earth) Mine Project in Sheridan County. Ramaco is developing an end-to-end critical materials supply chain to produce rare earth elements and other critical minerals from deposits of carbon ore or critical minerals from the Brook Mine. Following the 2023 discovery of a rare earth element deposit, Ramaco has completed several exploratory studies suggesting an estimated 1.5 million tons of total rare earth oxide. Ramaco’s project will mine carbon ore mixed of critical minerals, process it in a newly constructed processing facility and extract scandium, gallium, germanium, and light and heavy rare earth elements to produce mixed concentrates and separated oxides. Later phases of this project will bring production into a commercial-scale facility.
“For over 15 years, Ramaco has proudly called Sheridan home and invested in the people and economy of Wyoming,” said Randall Atkins, Chairman and CEO of Ramaco Resources, Inc. “The recent discovery that our state’s rich coal resources also contain the rare earth and critical minerals our country desperately needs now puts Wyoming at the center of delivering on our nation’s energy and national security requirements. Ramaco is proud to have the support of Governor Gordon and to invest alongside the Wyoming Energy Authority’s matching grant in the Wyoming CORE Mine Project in Sheridan. The Wyoming legislature had strong foresight to fund this program. Governor Gordon, and the Authority are now putting it to good use by creating new jobs and economic development for the people of Wyoming. After many years of investment, we are now moving this project of national importance forward, and we are committed to making our community and Wyoming proud.”
The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) has been awarded $1 million for its project, Great Plains and Interior Highlands CORE-CM: Developing a Nexus of Carbon Ore & Critical Mineral Resources, Technology Innovation and Communities of the Future. SER has identified three Wyoming coal mines (and other natural resource mines) co-producing rare earth elements and critical mineral materials, which could add value and diversity to Wyoming’s economy. This project expands initial basin-specific work to a multi-state approach – ten states and four geologic basins of interest that together comprise the largest coal-producing region in the nation: the Powder River Basin, Williston Basin, Cherokee/Forest City Basin, and the Gulf Coast Basin. By following a detailed and multi-pronged approach, this project will build a robust database for a national prospectus of CMM resources from secondary and unconventional feedstocks and continue the development of Technology Innovation Centers within Wyoming, the Great Plains and Interior Highlands Region, and the United States.
“This project is crucial for securing U.S. sources of critical minerals and strengthening supply chains,” stated Tyler Brown, Interim Program Manager for the School of Energy Resources Critical Minerals Team. “Focusing on Eastern Wyoming and expanding across the midwestern United States, we’re advancing critical mineral research and technology to boost resource development and economic growth. Specifically, we are focused on value-added programs for coal-based mineral resources.”
A second project from the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) has been awarded $500,000 for the Assessment, Characterization and Planning for Carbon Ore and Critical Minerals/Materials Resources Utilization in the Rocky Mountain Region. The project seeks to assess unconventional and secondary sources of critical minerals and materials and carbon ore resources within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carbon Ore, Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Region 6 (US Rocky Mountain Region). The goals of this project are to develop strategic and novel development plans for CORE-CM feedstocks in western Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region, including the waste streams from coal, coal by-products, trona, helium, uranium, phosphate, and oil and gas industries and to provide education opportunities and information to the public.
“The Region 6 CORE-CM Project unites experts from the Rocky Mountain Region, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado,” said Davin Bagdonas, Senior Scientist at the School of Energy Resources’ Center for Economic Geology Research. “This initiative aims to develop supply chains for rare earths, critical minerals and carbon materials from coal-based resources by leveraging the region’s infrastructure and skilled workforce.”
X Oil Development, a leading innovator in Enhanced Oil Recovery, has been awarded $2 million for its East Powder River EOR Pilot Project. Located on the eastern ridge of the Powder River
Basin in the Skull Creek oil field, this project aims to significantly increase oil recovery from mature conventional fields using Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) agent. Unlike other EOR agents like chemicals or CO2, NGLs can be captured and recycled indefinitely, retain their value, and be sold later. NGL EOR technology can recover an additional 20% or more of the original oil from mature fields with minimal drilling of new wells and without hydraulic fracturing. This technology is also environmentally responsible, utilizing on-site electricity and capturing emissions for permanent storage in the reservoir. This pilot project plans to demonstrate this technology’s effectiveness and economic viability, paving the way for widespread adoption across Wyoming.
Walker Baus, Executive Chairman, X Oil Development, LLC, said, “X Oil Development is honored to receive support from the Wyoming Energy Authority and Governor Gordon for our Skull Creek NGL EOR Pilot Project. This funding represents a critical step in advancing innovative Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques using Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) to unlock Wyoming’s untapped oil reserves in mature fields facing end-of-life decisions without drilling and fracking. By leveraging existing infrastructure and cutting-edge technology, we are enhancing oil production and driving economic growth, creating high-quality jobs, and ensuring Wyoming remains at the forefront of energy innovation. We appreciate Governor Gordon’s leadership and the Wyoming Energy Authority’s commitment to fostering energy advancements that benefit the state, its communities, and its workforce.”
The EMF project review process includes an initial concept paper, followed by an invitation to submit a formal proposal. The project proposal then goes to a Review Committee – comprised of the Executive Director of the WEA, a designee from the Governor’s Office, the Director of the Department of Workforce Services, and the CEO of the Wyoming Business Council. If projects are recommended to proceed, a ten-day public comment period opens. All comments are reviewed and considered in the final decision to award EMF. The project proposal goes to the Attorney General’s office and then the Governor for final approval. This public process ensures that each project awarded has been thoroughly considered by multiple parties, including an invitation to members of the public to weigh in on projects.
The Energy Matching Funds continuously accepts concept papers but follows a periodic review process. For more information and to learn more about these eleven projects, please visit https://wyoenergy.org/energy-matching-funds.
