ORLANDO, Fla. — Imagine living in a house made almost entirely out of coal — from the structural columns to the walls to the roof. What if this coal house was safer, more affordable and stronger than a traditional home made of wood or brick?

Semplastics, an international material engineering company, is on a mission to turn that vision into reality, and with continued support from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), this could be accomplished sooner than later.