Mike Holmes became the new vice president of research, development and marketing for the Lignite Energy Council and technical advisor to the commission in mid-December. He succeeds Mike Jones, who retired at the end of the 2016.
Mike Jones (L) retired in December and Mike Holmes (R) replaced him as Vice President of Research and Development.Holmes has been the director of Energy Systems Development at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in Grand Forks, where he oversaw fossil energy research areas. His principal areas of interest and expertise include CO2 capture; fuel processing; gasification systems for coproduction of hydrogen, fuels, and chemicals with electricity; process development and economics for advanced energy systems; and emission control technologies.
Prior to his work at EERC, Holmes spent 15 years working on coal-related research and development and commercial projects for Babcock & Wilcox, a major supplier of advanced energy and environmental technologies for the power industry.
He received a master’s of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of North Dakota and a bachelor’s of science degree in chemistry and mathematics from Mayville State University. He is a member of the National Coal Council and has been an Executive Member and served on the Board of Directors of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association.
He has been the recipient of the Lignite Energy Council Distinguished Service Awards for both Government Action Program and Research and Development. He has also authored or coauthored more than 120 professional publications and is responsible for 12 U.S. patents.
The Lignite R&D program receives approximately $4.3 million annually from a 10-cent-per-ton R&D allocation from the coal severance tax and a percentage of the coal conversion tax. State dollars are matched with both private and public investments. The Lignite R&D Program has provided more $63.5 million in state funds for more than 200 lignite-related R&D projects since 1987. The total investment to date for all projects is more than $650 million.
“As our new R&D director, Mike will be able to provide valuable insight to numerous Lignite R&D projects currently under contract with the state,” said Jason Bohrer, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council. “He will be a great asset to our industry as we advance toward better technologies to maximize the energy stored in the state’s abundant lignite resources.”