Project news, Raising capital

Green ammonia developer seeking renewable energy partner

A green ammonia developer is seeking partners that can provide 45V-qualifying renewable energy to a 100 MW facility in Texas.

April 19, 2024

First Ammonia, a green ammonia project developer, is soliciting interest from potential providers of renewable energy for its flagship project in Port of Victoria, Texas.

The company is looking for 10 years of renewable energy to power the 100 MW facility beginning in 4Q26, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The renewable power must be eligible under rules for 45V regarding temporal matching and incrementality, the sources said.

Verdonck Partners is advising on the renewable power solicitation, they added.

ReSource previously interviewed First Ammonia CEO Joel Moser about the company and its plans for growth.

The project has an arrangement with Germany’s Uniper for offtake and with Denmark’s Topsoe for the supply of equipment including electrolyzers.

Representatives of First Ammonia and Verdonck did not respond to requests for comment.

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Project finance, Project news, Raising capital, Regulatory

Grön Fuels’ massive Louisiana fuels project delayed 2 years

Commercial operations for the project are now expected in 2027 compared to 2025 previously, an executive told a local newspaper.

Fidelis New Energy’s plans to build a massive renewable fuels complex at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge have been delayed by two years.

The project, known as Grön Fuels, is a $9.2bn, 65,000 barrel per day renewable fuels facility producing sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and renewable propane as low carbon transportation fuels, according to the firm’s website.

The developer had said in a 2021 press release that Fidelis expected to achieve final investment decision in 2021. However an executive from Fidelis told local Louisiana newspaper that the firm is still working toward a final investment decision as it waits for final rules regarding the IRA.

“We now have a build-out path that enables the start of the construction and independent operations of the [sustainable aviation fuel] production portion of Grön Fuels while enabling the additional values of the FidelisH2 technologies to be added after the IRA rules that impact them are finalized,” Fidelis COO Bengt Jarlsjo wrote to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.

Commercial operations for the project are now expected in 2027 compared to 2025 previously, the executive told the newspaper.

Jarlsjo did not respond to a request for an interview from ReSource.

April 24, 2024

Innovation, Project finance, Project news, Regulatory

$400bn investment needed in US SAF facilities by 2050: report

The report from SkyNRG identifies a $400bn investment opportunity, but notes SAF industry constraints in the form of policy instability and a lack of available feedstocks.

The US sustainable aviation fuel industry needs to invest $400bn in new production facilities if the country is to reach domestic SAF production of 27 billion gallons – equal to 2019 jet fuel demand – by 2050.

Federal tax incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act will drive SAF production in the US, and could bring capacity to 3 billion gallons by 2030 and reach a 100% jet fuel replacement rate by 2050, according to a report from SkyNRG, a Dutch-based SAF producer.

The report highlights the available tax credits in the form of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blender’s Tax Credit of $1.75 per gallon; the Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit available from 2025 – 2027; and the Hydrogen Producer Tax Credit of up to $3 per kg for 10 years for facilities operation before 2033.

Constraints on industry growth include the lack of long-term policy stability and potential strains on availability of SAF feedstocks, according to the report.

“To meet aspirational goals in the US, more [project] announcements would be needed,” a summary of the report says, noting that most new projects will likely use feedstock from corn ethanol and waste materials like agricultural waste, waste biogas or household waste.

Even so, deployment of bio-intermediate pathways like RNG in early years is constrained by the pace of project development, permitting new facilities, and federal policy adaptation.

Meanwhile, the report says, fats, oils and grease markets are under pressure; for new projects in this segment – known as HEFA, or HVO – to materialize, feedstock needs to be freed up by diverting from renewable diesel and biodiesel plants or by producing more vegetable oils domestically.

“With ambitious goals at the federal level around electric vehicles and with several states implementing zero-emission truck sales requirements, it is possible that additional feedstock is freed up for SAF,” according to the report. “However, incentives currently favoring the production of biodiesel and renewable diesel over SAF would also need to shift for HEFA capacity announcements to be successful.”

The report additionally floats the following policy prescriptions to make more feedstock available:

• Curbing exports of whole soybeans to yet-to-be developed crushing facilities to increase soybean oil production. This would affect the US trade balance as well as impacting global soybean meal trade flows.

• Large-scale government support for novel non-edible oilseed crops suitable for conversion into fuel. Appropriate safeguards would have to be in place to avoid indirect land use change effects.

• Increasing soybean acreage by 40 million acres from 87 million acres today to meet soybean oil needs. This would impact corn and wheat markets as soy would have to largely expand on existing cropland. This could in turn have consequences for corn ethanol availability.

June 1, 2023

Project finance, Project news, Raising capital, Regulatory

Mexico methanol project to use local wastewater

Transition Industries has agreed with local water authorities to use wastewater for a green and blue methanol facility in Sinaloa, Mexico.

Transition Industries LLC announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with the Ahome Municipality’s Drinking Water and Sewage Board (JAPAMA) to use municipal wastewater for all water resource needs for its Pacifico Mexinol project, a 6,145 MT per day methanol production facility near Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico.

When it initiates operations, Pacifico Mexinol, is expected to be the largest single ultra-low carbon methanol facility in the world – producing approximately 300,000 MT of green methanol from captured carbon and green hydrogen, and 1.8 million MT of blue methanol annually from natural gas with carbon capture, according to a news release. Furthermore, the water solution is expected to be the world’s largest application of industrial water reuse from municipal effluent.

Pacifico Mexinol’s purpose-driven water strategy, designed in partnership with JAPAMA, will allow the facility to completely avoid impacting the Bay of Ohuira. Instead of using seawater and other natural sources of water – which could compete with local agriculture, industrial, commercial and/or residential freshwater needs – Mexinol’s water solution uses municipal wastewater which will be treated and recycled back to the municipal wastewater facility. This closed loop water system will also prevent more than 12 million tons per annum of wastewater being disposed of into the Bay of Ohuira.

Pacifico Mexinol will pay JAPAMA a tariff per cubic meter of wastewater as determined by state law, thus enabling JAPAMA to commercialize its wastewater and strengthen its financial position. The agreement also includes upgrades and improvements to JAPAMA’s water treatment facility.

Rommel Gallo, the CEO of Transition Industries, commented: “We are pleased to have developed a sustainable water solution in partnership with JAPAMA that is not only a model for how to address climate change head-on but also shows how industry and government can work together for sustainable solutions, benefiting both the community and business.”

Transition Industries’ mission is to actively participate in the transition to a low-carbon world by leveraging technology and innovation to produce methanol safely and efficiently while minimizing any negative environmental and social impacts.

“Years of community and municipal engagement has led to the development of a set of purpose-driven design solutions, like our wastewater strategy, aligned with our core values. We will not impact the Bay; our facility is Net Zero to avoid pollution; we use clean and renewable energy; and we promote economic development aligned with the interests of communities,” says Tom Roche, Head of ESG for Transition Industries.

Pacifico Mexinol is expected to reach FID in 2024 and commercial operations in late-2027 to early-2028. The project will generate a significant number of local jobs during construction and operations.

April 24, 2024

Project finance, Project news, Raising capital

AGDC seeks $150m in development capital for Alaska LNG project

The Alaska corporation is raising capital to reach FID on a $44bn LNG project that includes the construction of a natural gas pipeline and carbon capture infrastructure.

The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) is actively working to raise $150m in development capital for the Alaska LNG project, with Goldman Sachs providing advisory services.

This capital will cover third-party Front End Engineering Design (FEED) costs, project management, legal and commercial expenses, and overhead for 8 Star Alaska, the entity overseeing the project. Investors will receive a majority interest in both 8 Star Alaska and Alaska LNG as part of the fundraising efforts, according to a presentation.

AGDC, a public corporation of the state of Alaska, is hoping to finalize a deal for development capital in the next 12 months, but has not set a definitive timeline for the fundraise, AGDC’s Tim Fitzpatrick said.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $44bn, according to Fitzpatrick, and consists of three principal infrastructural components:

Arctic Carbon Capture (ACC) Plant: Located in Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope, this plant is designed to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide before natural gas enters the pipeline.
Natural Gas Pipeline: This 807-mile pipeline, with a 42-inch diameter, connects the ACC plant to the LNG facility and is capable of transporting 3.7 billion ft³/d of natural gas. It includes multiple offtake points for in-state residential, commercial, and industrial use.
Alaska LNG Facility: Situated at tidewater in Nikiski, Alaska, this facility features three liquefaction trains, two loading berths, two 240,000 m³ LNG tanks, and a jetty. It is designed to produce 20 million tons per year of LNG.

Strategies to raise the necessary funds include collaborating with established LNG developers, strategic and financial investors, and possibly forming a consortium, according to the presentation. All project equity will flow through 8 Star Alaska, keeping the legal and commercial structure of the project consistent.

As of last year, the corporation was negotiating sales agreements for a significant portion of the Alaska LNG project’s capacity. Discussions include contracts covering 8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at fixed prices and market-linked charges, and equity offtake talks for up to 12 MTPA. Additionally, three traditional Asian utility customers have shown interest in a minimum of 3 MTPA, potentially increasing to 5 MTPA.

These negotiations involve traditional Asian utility buyers, LNG traders, and oil and gas companies, all credit-worthy and large-scale market participants, the company said. Some buyers are contemplating equity offtake, investing at the Final Investment Decision (FID) in exchange for LNG supplied at cost.

A key component of the project’s advancement is securing gas supply agreement terms, identified as a prerequisite by multiple investors. AGDC has held meetings with executives from two major producers to emphasize the need for Gas Supply Precedent Agreements to attract further investment. These discussions, highlighting the project’s importance to Alaska, were joined by key figures including the DOR Commissioner Crum, the DNR Commissioner Boyle, and representatives from Goldman Sachs.

The Japan Energy Summit, sponsored by AGDC, focused on the need for new LNG capacity in Asia. Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI) expressed strong support for new LNG investments and offtake, emphasizing the replacement of coal with gas in developing Asian markets.

January 9, 2024

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M&A, Project news, Raising capital

Renewable hydrogen developer to launch series A round next month

A Colorado-based renewable hydrogen developer has hired an advisor and will launch a series A funding round next month.

NovoHydrogen, the Colorado-based renewable hydrogen developer, will launch a series A capital raise in the middle of March to take on a new investor for project development and hiring, CEO Matt McMonagle said in an interview.

The company has hired GreenFront Energy Partners to run the process, McMonagle said.

NovoHydrogen builds its projects onsite with customers, as close to end use as possible, he said. The company serves transportation (heavy road transport, shipping and aviation), industrial (cement, glass, metal, steel, food, etc.) and power (peaking power and diesel generator replacement). Most of Novo’s customers are users of grey hydrogen looking to decarbonize. In the case of cement, they are looking to replace diesel for their trucks and coal and natural gas for their kilns.

“We first look to see if we can put our projects on our customer sites and make it there,” McMonagle said. “If we can’t do that, we’ll do offsite, but we still try to be as close to customers as possible to minimize that midstream component or distribution component.”

About 30 projects are in development in the US, ranging from a few megawatts to hundreds of megawatts, McMonagle said. NovoHydrogen’s most active markets are the West coast, Northeast, Appalachia, Texas and the Rocky Mountains, though the company is not geographically constrained.

The company aims to begin construction on its first projects by the end of this year, possibly early next year, McMonagle said. The first project could reach COD in 2024.

NovoHydrogen recently announced that it has closed its seed funding round and appointed four executives to its board of directors. Each of those executives represent an investor that participated in the seed round, McMonagle said.

The new board appointees are: Jeremy Avenier, an active investor at Ohmium International; Peyton Boswell, managing partner at Woodfield Renewable Partners; Bruno Franco, partner at Pacífico Energia and managing partner at PWR Capital; and Joseph Malchow, a managing partner at Hanover (a Silicon Valley VC), board member and investor in Enphase and board member and investor in Archaea.

More money

“We will certainly need more money as our projects mature,” McMonagle said. “I do not have the hundreds of millions of dollars on my balance sheet to build these projects.”

An ideal investor will bring accretive capabilities in hydrogen, in a field like value chain equipment or delivery, to the table, McMonagle said.

NovoHydrogen plans to be a long-term owner-operator of its projects, McMonagle said. That is an important point for customers: that the company is not going to sell the project and not care how the next owner operates.

“We want to earn future business from these customers,” McMonagle said, adding that most of them are transitioning piecemeal.

NovoHydrogen and TigerGenCo in November said they would advance development of green hydrogen capacity to reduce reliance on natural gas at the Bayonne Energy Center located in New Jersey. NovoHydrogen will develop and operate the hydrogen production facility to reduce Bayonne’s carbon emissions.

TigerGen owns the power plant and is the offtaker in that project. Ohmium International is providing the PEM electrolyzers in that project. McMonagle said the company may use other electrolyzer providers for future projects.

The company is also a partner in the Aliance for Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) for the California DOE Hydrogen Hub submission.

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February 8, 2023

Innovation, Raising capital, Regulatory

Exclusive: California IPP considering hydrogen options for gas generation portfolio

A California-based IPP is considering burning hydrogen in the thermal plants it acquires, as well as in a portfolio of gas peaking assets it is developing in Texas and the western US.

Nightpeak Energy, the Oakland-based IPP backed by Energy Spectrum Capital, is planning to have wide optionality to burn hydrogen in the gas plants it acquires, as well as in quick-start peaking natural gas assets it is developing in Texas and the western US, CEO Paris Hays said in an interview.

“There’s just not a lot of places in this country where you can procure enough hydrogen at a reasonable price to actually serve wholesale electricity customers,” Hays said of the existing hydrogen landscape.

Still, OEMs are figuring out in real time which of their deployed fleet can burn hydrogen, he said. Studies on blending seem to be yielding positive results.

“That’s great news for a business like ours, because we can have optionality,” Hays said. When interacting with equipment providers, conversion to hydrogen is an important, if expensive, discussion point.

“We want to be in a position to be able to do that for our customers,” Hays said. “We can offer a premium product, which is kind of rare in our business.”

Nightpeak recently purchased Saguaro Power Co., which owns a 90 MW combined cycle power plant in Nevada. That facility is a candidate for hydrogen repowering, Hays said, though that’s just one option for an asset that is currently cash-flowing well.

The Nevada facility is close to California, which notably is a market with a demonstrated appetite for paying green premiums, Hays said.

“We wouldn’t manufacture hydrogen ourselves, we would be a buyer,” he said. “This is one path that any plants we own or develop could take in the future.”

Nightpeak has yet to announce any greenfield projects. But Hays said the company is developing a portfolio of “quick-start” natural gas generation projects in ERCOT and WECC. Those assets, 100 MW or more, are to be developed with the concept of hydrogen conversion or blending in mind.

Proposition 7, which recently passed in Texas, could present an opportunity for Nightpeak as the legislation’s significant provisions for natural gas development has pundits and some lawmakers calling for the assets to be hydrogen-ready.

Investor interest in being able to convert gas assets to burn hydrogen reflect an important decision-making process for Nightpeak, Hays said.

“Does it makes sense to just buy a turbine that only burns natural gas and may be a stranded asset at some point, or would we rather pay and select a turbine that already has the optionality?” Hays said. “Putting price aside, you’re always going to go for optionality.”

December 13, 2023