CHARLESTON – Nearly four years after it first announced that it was considering Mason County for a plant to turn coal into other products, Gov. Patrick Morrisey Monday said Frontieras North America has closed on property.

Morrisey in a press release announced that the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Frontieras North America, a subsidiary of Frontier Applied Sciences, has closed on the purchase of 183 acres in Mason County to move forward with a proposed $850 million investment in the state to construct a new coal reformation facility.

“There are so many good things going on in this area,” Morrisey said in a video message Monday morning from along the Ohio River in Point Pleasant. “I’m really pleased to announce that we have a major economic project right here in Mason County. This is a wonderful company called Frontieras, and I’ve been talking with them.”

The proposed Frontieras project utilizes its patented FASForm technology to transform coal into high-value products, such as fertilizers and fuel, while claiming to produce zero waste. Construction is estimated to begin later this year with the plant up and running by the middle of 2028. According to the company, the project would improve West Virginia’s gross domestic product by 3% when completed.

“West Virginia gave us every reason to build here, natural resources, world-class logistics and a government that understands the importance of industrial growth,” said Matthew McKean, CEO and co-founder of Frontieras North America, in a prepared statement.

The initiative is expected to stimulate the local economy by creating thousands of jobs and increase demand for regional natural resources.

“This is a coal reformation technology that’s going to take advantage of our wonderful coal resources,” Morrisey said. “We’re looking at a new facility that will likely have more than 2,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs in its first phase. A really big thing. But an $850 million capital investment and the jobs that will be coming to this area, many of them are going to be over $100,000 per year. Wonderful news for West Virginia.”

Frontieras first announced the Mason County project in April 2022, citing the location’s access to coal, skilled workers, and rail and water transportation links. The company originally was supposed to begin construction toward the latter half of 2023 according to Frontieras’ April 2022 announcement. West Virginia was chosen over locations in Texas and Wyoming.

“I could not be more excited to welcome Frontieras North America to West Virginia. I thank them for selecting Mason County as the home of their new plant,” said former governor and now U.S. Sen. Jim Justice in a 2022 statement. “Frontieras is the latest of several major companies to move into West Virginia because the outside world is finally waking up to the fact that we are the diamond in the rough that everyone missed.”

By choosing this site over other states, Morrisey said the company highlighted West Virginia’s superior infrastructure and supportive industrial policies. Morrisey also said this partnership serves as a cornerstone for the governor’s long-term energy strategy – his 50 by 50 plan to increase the number of gigawatts of electricity from 16 gigawatts to 50 gigawatts by 2050 – as well as the Governor’s “Backyard Brawl” initiative to compete economically with other states.

“Most importantly, what they have said is they looked at our regulatory environment, they’ve looked at our 50 by 50 plan, and they know we want to invest in our people, and they believe in the strength of our workers. It’s a big day in West Virginia, very exciting, and as I’m here on the Ohio River, let me say this is a big win in the Backyard Brawl.”

Steve Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.