FARGO — The North Dakota coal industry might seem like an improbable partner for the industry that makes materials for batteries for the rapidly growing electric vehicle market.But that odd-couple marriage of a legacy fossil fuels industry and the emerging sector of low carbon-emission electric vehicles helps explain why
Talon Metals chose a site in Mercer County in North Dakota Coal Country
for a processing plant to make battery materials.One of the key reasons the site in Mercer County emerged at the top of the list was its ready access to tons of fly ash residue produced when coal is burned to generate electricity.North Dakota’s coal-burning power plants produce more than 3 million tons per year of fly ash, which is commonly used in making cement but otherwise must be properly disposed of, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.For…