Carbon extracted from Southland coal could be used to produce next-generation electric vehicle batteries and earthquake proof buildings under new research and development from the New Zealand Institute for Minerals to Materials Research.

NZIMMR science and research chief officer Paul Hoskin said development undertaken by the institute would form an important part of New Zealand’s transition away from fossil fuel powered energy.

“The current conversation is stripped back, so the public can understand it, but what’s missing is that burning coal is bad, because when you burn coal that produces CO2 and greenhouses gases,” he said.

“But when you use the coal and not burn it, you can then take the carbon out and use it as electrodes for electric vehicle batteries, or aeroplane brakes, or carbon fibre for just about anything.”

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Secure supply of coal from across New Zealand was key in the development of these new technologies and could form part of a just transition for traditional coal mining towns.

“We think there’s a real opportunity to develop new technologies using the existing coal that keeps the [coal-mining] communities alive for a little longer, and gives them time to transition out and change their local economies,” he said.

Currently, work was focussed on coal taken from the West Coast, but Hoskin saw no reason Southland coal could not be utilised and was open to conversations with investors in the region.

“We’ll take large amounts of West Coast coal to produce these products, but there’s no reason it can’t be done in Southland either,” he said.

“For the time being whilst we build the business and win market share it will be focused on the West Coast, but if there are investors in Southland that want to help get us up and going from day one, I’m more than happy to talk to them.”

He anticipated the institute would move to a round of capital raising mid-next year, with the hope to get a factory up and running in 2023. It would employ at least 30 people directly and a further 30 to 40 people indirectly with the potential to scale up operations across the country, he said.