Cemvita heralds SAF feedstock production breakthrough
A process to produce what the company calls sustainable oil from microorganisms as a SAF feedstock has produced high-yield extraction from the 4,000-liter bioreactor the company operates in Houston.
May 7, 2024
Cemvita, the biosolutions provider for the energy industry, has made a “significant breakthrough” in the production of Sustainable Oil from waste carbon sources, according to a news release.
“This landmark achievement marks a pivotal step forward in the production of low-carbon intensity feedstocks for HEFA sustainable aviation fuel,” the release states. “We simply do not have enough low-carbon intensity feedstock locally in the US.”
About five billion pounds a year are imported from places as far away as Australia and China.
Cemvita’s microorganisms are rich in oil and undergo a series of processing steps to extract it. The process has produced high-yield extraction of the oil from the 4,000-liter bioreactor the company operates in Houston.
Early tests confirm that Cemvita’s Sustainable Oil is a drop-in replacement for palm oil in all its use cases.
The next step for Sustainable Oil will be the conversion into sustainable aviation fuel by partners in refining. The use of sustainable oil in SAF production targets a reduction of emissions of up to 80% over common jet fuel, with further applications in food, cosmetics, and specialty chemicals.
Such an achievement opens up new avenues for sustainable fuel feedstock production. To ensure reliability, Cemvita will continue the process with the produced Sustainable Oil undergoing extensive characterization and product testing to ensure its performance and compatibility with existing aviation infrastructure.
Unlock this article
The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers.
Electrolyzer start-up Verdagy has hired a chief commercial officer from Plug Power.
Verdagy, a green hydrogen electrolysis company with over a decade of technology and product development, announced today the appointment of David Bow as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Bow will lead Verdagy’s revenue, sales and business development.
“I am excited to join Verdagy at a pivotal time as the company scales up commercial deployments and decarbonizes hard-to-abate industries,” Bow said in a news release. “I will apply my decades of experience in the hydrogen and electrolyzer domains to successfully drive Verdagy’s revenue growth targets.”
Bow recently served as Executive Vice President of Plug Power’s Electrolyzer Solutions, where in three years, he advanced Plug from a new player in the electrolyzer system market to a global leader. He previously held the position of Senior Vice President of Global Business Development at Nel Hydrogen. Prior to Nel, Bow was the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Proton OnSite. Early in his career, Bow developed electrolyzers for the purification of biochemicals used in biotherapeutics.
MVCE seeks to produce clean hydrogen in the Gulf of Mexico and build a clean hydrogen supply chain between Japan and the US.
“ENEOS is working to build low-cost, stable clean hydrogen supply chains in Japan and overseas,” the release states. “As one aspect of the
initiative, ENEOS is investigating the joint production of hydrogen with business partners in Asia, the Middle East, and Australia as well as the production and transportation of methylcyclohexane (MCH), an effective medium for the efficient form of hydrogen storage and transportation.”
Established by Azimuth Capital Management, MVCE is developing one of the world’s largest plants for the manufacture of hydrogen, MCH, and ammonia in
the Gulf of Mexico. Through its equity participation, ENEOS will verify the commercial feasibility of manufacturing cost-competitive and clean hydrogen in the Gulf of Mexico and exporting MCH to Japan.
The JV with Whitewater/I Squared Capital and MPLX will develop, construct, and operate natural gas pipeline and storage assets connecting the Permian Basin natural to growing LNG and U.S. Gulf Coast demand.
Enbridge Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement with WhiteWater/I Squared Capital and MPLX LP (“MPLX”) to form a joint-venture that will develop, construct, own, and operate natural gas pipeline and storage assets connecting Permian Basin natural gas supply to growing LNG and U.S. Gulf Coast demand, according to a news release.
Highlights:
Acquiring a meaningful, strategic equity interest in the joint venture
Immediately accretive to DCF per share, with ~90% contracted cash flows
Receiving immediate, recurring, and growing cash flow from operating assets with minimal commodity exposure
Optimizes balance sheet by increasing EBITDA and reducing Enbridge’s share of future Rio Bravo pipeline project capex proportional to its economic interest in that project
The joint venture will be owned by WhiteWater/I Squared (50.6%), MPLX (30.4%), and Enbridge (19.0%) and will include the following assets:
100% interest in Whistler pipeline, a ~450-mile, 42-inch intrastate pipeline transporting natural gas from an interconnect with the Waha Header in the Permian Basin to Agua Dulce, TX, near the starting point of the proposed Rio Bravo pipeline
100% interest in the Rio Bravo pipeline project, ~137-miles of new 42-inch and 48-inch pipelines transporting natural gas from the Agua Dulce supply area to NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas
70% interest in ADCC pipeline, a ~40-mile, 42-inch proposed intrastate pipeline designed to transport 1.7 Bcf/d of natural gas from the terminus of the Whistler pipeline in Agua Dulce, TX to Cheniere’s Corpus Christi LNG export facility (the pipeline is expected to be in-service in Q3 2024 and is expandable up to 2.5 Bcf/d)
50% interest in Waha Gas Storage, a ~2.0 Bcf gas storage cavern facility, with additional topside facilities capable of injection and withdrawal
Approximately 98% of capacity is contracted under long-term, take-or-pay contracts with an average contract length greater than 10 years. Approximately 90% of counterparties are investment grade and include leading operators in the Permian Basin.
Upon closing of the transaction, Enbridge will contribute its wholly-owned Rio Bravo pipeline project and $350m in cash to the joint venture, and will fund the first $150m of the post-closing capex to complete the Rio Bravo pipeline project. Enbridge will receive a 19% equity interest in the joint venture and retain a 25% economic interest in the Rio Bravo pipeline project (subject to certain redemption rights of the joint venture partners).
“Acquiring a meaningful equity interest in an integrated Permian natural gas pipeline and storage network that is directly connected to our existing infrastructure at Agua Dulce through this JV with WhiteWater/I Squared and MPLX is very exciting. This is a great way to enhance our super-system approach, bringing energy supply to places where it is needed most and providing last mile connectivity to domestic and export customers,” said Cynthia Hansen, EVP and President, Gas Transmission and Midstream of Enbridge.
Enbridge will be contributing its Rio Bravo pipeline project, which will extend the joint venture’s current infrastructure to serve LNG and other customers on the USGC. Enbridge’s share of the post-closing capex to complete the Rio Bravo pipeline project will be 100% of the first $150m and, thereafter, proportionate to its aggregate economic interest in that project.
This transaction is expected to unlock future growth opportunities for Enbridge to connect sustainable natural gas production to export markets as part of its USGC strategy.
“The transaction optimizes our investment capacity by increasing the efficiency of our capital. We will begin receiving immediate cash flow and will share in future growth opportunities,” said Pat Murray, EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Enbridge. “Having access to new Permian natural gas infrastructure enhances and increases the visibility of our medium-term growth outlook, while being accretive to our balance sheet.”
Closing is expected in the second quarter of 2024, subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
The company is well capitalized following a $250m equity investment from Generate Capital and is now opportunistically reviewing an initial slate of project M&A offerings.
Following an equity investment from Generate Capital, Ambient Fuels has begun to evaluate potential acquisitions of hydrogen projects that are under development, CEO Jacob Susman said in an interview.
“We’ve seen our first project M&A opportunities come through in the last 10 days or so,” Susman said.
Three projects for sale involve land positions, he said. Those that appear most attractive have a clear line of site to offtake or a strong approach to renewable power supply. Two out of three are not on the Gulf Coast.
“In no instance are these brokered deals,” Susman said.
Following the $250m equity investment from Generate Capital, Ambient is capitalized for several years and has no immediate plans to seek debt or tax equity, Susman said. The transaction was done without the help of a financial advisor.
Moving forward Ambient is open to JV formation with a partner that can help access offtake and renewable power, Susman said. Those points will drive future capital investment in the company and were resources that Generate brought to the table besides money.
Advisors selling up to 50% of the company’s US onshore renewables platform are pitching the value-enhancing potential of green hydrogen development in the process.
Avangrid is touting the opportunity to develop a major pipeline of green hydrogen projects as it prepares to collect initial bids for a stake in its US onshore renewables platform, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The Portland, Oregon-based clean energy firm, which is owned by Spain-based Iberdrola, is running a process to sell up to a 50% stake in roughly 9.6 GW of operational projects and an 18 GW development pipeline, the sources said. The process launched in March with Lazard and Rothschild on the sellside.
As part of the platform’s opportunities for value enhancement, the company is promoting the potential for green hydrogen, with a sale teaser noting that parent Iberdrola is a global leader in green hydrogen development with two operational projects and 60 in development.
“[Avangrid] Onshore Renewables intends to leverage this experience to become an early leader in hydrogen project development in the US,” the teaser reads, stating a goal of building out some 900 MW of green hydrogen projects by 2035.
The company is also involved in seven “hydrogen hub” regions in the US: regions participating in the Department of Energy’s grant process for funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Avangrid last year signed an MoU with Sempra Infrastructure to develop large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia projects powered by renewable sources. The teaser notes that the company is advancing a flagship joint development project and initiating conversations with offtakers.
The operating renewables portfolio for sale includes 8.7 GW of wind power and some 300 MW of solar in Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, New York, Iowa, and North Carolina, along with the 536 MW Klamath cogeneration plant in Oregon. The development pipeline has roughly 14.2 GW of solar and solar-plus-storage capacity and 3.8 GW of wind.
Avangrid declined to comment. Rothschild and Lazard did not respond to requests for comment.
Milwaukee-based start-up Advanced Ionics is seeking to commercialize an electrolyzer that cuts electricity needs for hydrogen production to as low as 30 kWh per kilogram.
Advanced Ionics is seeking to ramp manufacturing capacity and raise capital as it begins to commercialize an electrolyzer promising to reduce electricity needs, CEO Chad Mason said in an interview.
The Milwaukee-based company is working to demonstrate its low-cost electrolyzer technology through a partnership with the Repsol Foundation.
The technology will be tested locally, but could grow to include additional tests and, eventually, a commercial relationship with the Spain-based energy and petrochemical company.
Advanced Ionics is looking to move into a larger facility in Milwaukee to advance early-stage production of the electrolyzer, which uses steam from process and waste heat to reduce the amount of electricity required in electrolysis.
The company last year raised $4.2m in a seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures, with participation from SWAN Impact Network. It has also received financial support from Repsol and $500,000 from the DOE.
As it scales, Mason said, the company will also need to raise additional capital, but he declined further comment.
Going to market
The Repsol arrangement is part of the company’s early access program allowing potential end users to take a first look at the technology.
“Repsol is just the tip of the iceberg here,” Mason said. “We’re talking to some really amazing partners at some of the largest energy companies in the world. People who use hydrogen today and want to make it green immediately understand what we’re doing.”
Given the concentration of hydrogen use in petrochemicals and ammonia, Advanced Ionics is targeting these sectors for deployment of its electrolyzers to produce clean hydrogen, Mason added.
Mason noted that, as the traditional petrochemical industry dies off over time, it will be replaced by green materials and green fuels like sustainable aviation fuel and biofuels that require hydrogenation to be useable.
“You’ll see a bit of a replacement happening on the petrochemical side, towards a green chemical,” he said, adding that a third potential key market is green steel production using hydrogen.
Thermodynamically favored
The company’s Symbiotic electrolyzers use steam by tapping into excess heat from industrial settings, thereby lowering electricity needs for water splitting to 35 kWh per kg, with 30 kWh per kg possible. That compares to industry averages over 50 kWh per kg.
Advanced Ionics’ water vapor electrolyzer
“We set out to build an electrolyzer specifically that would operate at intermediate temperatures,” he said. “And that allows you to have the synergy with those processes, and the downstream effect is the most cost-effective hydrogen you can get.”
The resulting hydrogen could be available for less than $1 per kg – but, Mason notes, the underlying power price math assumes an abundance of cheap, clean power. The models are usually pricing in two cents per kWh, the availability of which, Mason added, is “extremely geographically dependent.”
“If you’re in Texas, you have a system with wind, solar, and some amount of clean energy grid back-up, it’s pretty attractive,” he said. “Or if you hook up to a hydroelectric facility in the Northwest or in the Quebec area.”
Mason added, “Electrolysis rides on the coattails of cheap, clean electricity. What we have under our control is to make sure we’re using as little electricity as possible.”
