June 16, 2025 – The Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) announced today that Governor Gordon had approved two separate projects to receive Energy Matching Funds (EMF). Relevant Gold Corporation has been awarded $226,533 for its versatile time domain electromagnetic (VTEM) survey project in Carbon County, and Big Blue Technologies (BBT) has been awarded $1.5 million to scale up process technology to make magnesium metal in alignment with recent executive orders by President Trump.
Since 2022, the Wyoming State Legislature has appropriated $155 million in funds to the Office of the Governor 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.
“These latest Energy Matching Funds projects demonstrate exactly what this program is all about— putting Wyoming and American energy and ingenuity front and center,” said Governor Mark Gordon. “Here in the Cowboy State, we have the homegrown innovation, natural resources, and know-how to produce energy and other critical materials. We’re proud to support projects that align with President Trump’s executive orders and his commitment to strengthening domestic energy production, boosting domestic mining and securing our children’s future.”
“Building resilient domestic supply chains is essential to reducing our dependence on foreign sources for critical minerals,” said Rob Creager, Executive Director of the Wyoming Energy Authority. “Wyoming has long been a leader in advancing the critical minerals agenda, and these projects continue to build on that momentum. We’re proud to support efforts that strengthen national security, support defense readiness, and position Wyoming as a driving force in America’s energy future. Investing in the infrastructure needed to grow critical mineral development ensures Wyoming remains a national leader in manufacturing, resource
development, and energy innovation.”
Big Blue Technologies (BBT) has developed a new smelting technology to produce magnesium metal from ore. This technology uses an aluminothermic method to produce pure magnesium metal and utilizes the residue (slag) as a valuable calcium aluminate cement for a zero-waste process. Magnesium metal has a strong industrial demand and is critical for the US Department of Energy and Department of Defense to produce lightweight vehicle components, aluminum alloys and military incendiaries. China and Russia supply over 90% of the current global magnesium metal supply. During the project, BBT will build a full-scale magnesium metal smelter that will produce 100 tons/year, making it the largest primary production facility in North America.
“The state of Wyoming has been incredibly welcoming for our industrial project to produce magnesium metal and calcium aluminate. As a Wyoming-based company, we are excited and honored to be a part of the EMF program to scale up our operations and begin the implementation of a commercial-scale smelter,” says Dr. Aaron Palumbo, BBT CEO. “This represents a pivotal investment to accelerate our impact for the state of Wyoming and our greater domestic manufacturing and defense industries.”
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, the Wyoming State Geologist, 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.