FREDERICK, Md., July 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: TOMZ) (“TOMI”), the leader in decontamination equipment and services with its patented SteraMist ionized Hydrogen Peroxide (iHP) technology, and Carbonium Core, Inc (“Carbonium”), a leader in transforming low-grade coal into ultra-high-purity graphite, today provided updates on Carbonium’s business. On June 29, 2026, TOMI and Carbonium announced the signing of a definitive agreement to complete a merger between the two companies.
In a few short years, the process of manufacturing nuclear grade graphite from coal in the U.S. is projected to provide Carbonium Core with a significant source of sales and revenue. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has focused on alternative uses of coal, particularly conversion into value added products such as high-purity graphite. This coal to graphite conversion exemplifies ORNL’s mission of transforming abundant domestic resources into strategic, high value materials through technological innovation.
The United States Department of Energy, through the former Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) Office, and the current Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) have been sponsoring ORNL’s Coal-to-Production projects to address critical supply chain vulnerabilities and create high-value applications for domestic coal resources. HGEO’s mission is to unleash the full potential of America’s hydrocarbon and geothermal resources to provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy.
Carbonium is developing technology intended to produce nuclear-grade graphite for 4th-generation nuclear reactors, including Small Module Reactors (SMRs), and it focuses on establishing secure, domestic supply chains by converting U.S. source carbon feed stock into ultra-pure graphite, through the licensing of ORNL’s technology. Early feasibility of the conversion process was proven in lab-scale settings that focused on methodology development, formulation screening, and small-scale experiments to shape the hypothesis and refine protocols.
After successful lab-scale discovery and early R&D, Carbonium has moved to pilot-scale testing to bridge the gap between R&D and production. The pilot office is currently located in Oneida, Tennessee and will be the location to test and validate the conversion process under realistic operating conditions. Carbonium is expected to produce higher volume, use modular or semi-automated systems, focus on reproducibility and process optimization, increasing regulatory and quality control requirements and stress test the process design and scale-up feasibility.
After a short pilot study, Carbonium plans to move to full-scale commercial production, which will include production of high-volume batches, high integration and automation, dedicated infrastructure and quality assurance systems, comprehensive regulatory, compliance, and minimal tolerance for any deviation of variability. Given that Carbonium is currently engaged in advanced discussions with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy regarding potential collaboration related to its coal-to-graphite technology, its activities will be under the observation of Oak Ridge Nuclear lab and the U.S. Department of Energy.
