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Concord Energy, Cool Planet To Bring Biofuel To Asian Pacific Market
Published on Wednesday, 25 September 2013 Singapore’s Concord Energy has signed an agreement with biorefinery developer Cool Planet Energy Systems to establish a joint venture in the Asia Pacific Region for the development of biofuel facilities. Concord Energy is a leading crude oil and refined petroleum product trading company. They have made a financial investment in Cool Planet, which develops and deploys small-scale biorefineries that can convert non-food biomass into high-octane, drop-in biofuels and biochar. “We believe that Cool Planet has developed a unique technology that will revolutionize the production of biofuels and we are delighted that Cool Planet has chosen Concord Energy as its partner,” said John Stuart, chief executive officer of Concord’s Asset Group. Concords extensive operational and development experience in the Asia Pacific is considered key to the J.V.’s plans to establish a presence in the biofuels production market in the region. “We chose Concord Energy because we know they have the strong desire and the technological capability to deploy quickly the Cool Planet technology in East Asia and in Oceania,” said Vital Aelion, Cool Planet’s head of international business development. Commercial facilities for biomass to biofuel Just last week (September 17), Cool Planet also announced another business breakthrough, the second close of“D round” equity raise that garnered them $19.4 million in investments. The round added investors from Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Mexico to a marquee existing investor base, including North Bridge Venture Partners, Shea Ventures, BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy), and the Constellation division of Exelon. The new investors are committing to help bring Cool Planet’s drop-in fuel technology to countries around the world, and Cool Planet is actively developing partnerships to commercialize its technology internationally. Cool Planet now has over $60 million in investments to see the deployment of their technology. A portion of the equity raise will be used to finalize the engineering design of Cool Planet’s first commercial biorefinery in Louisiana in the United States (see related story ). URS Corporation will be the front-end engineering and design contractor for this facility which will begin operations before the end of 2014. The plant will produce 10 million gallons of biofuel a year. – EcoSeed Staff Continue reading
Cool Planet Raises Additional $19.4 Million In Funding
By Cool Planet Energy Systems | September 18, 2013 Cool Planet Energy Systems, a developer of small-scale bio-refineries for the conversion of non-food biomass into fuels and soil enhancing biochar, has announced the second close of a “D round” equity raise. After closing on more than $29.9 million in June of 2013, Cool Planet has added another $19.4 million in this closing. This brings the total amount raised and committed to over $60 million, including the remaining commitments from existing investors. “While equity markets remain closed to most biofuel businesses, investors are seeing a differentiated opportunity in Cool Planet. Our drop-in cellulosic gasoline and biochar technology has global potential,” said Cool Planet CEO Howard Janzen. “A strong proof point for this potential is the impressive group of international investors who have participated in our equity raise, positioning the company for long-term growth globally.” Cool Planet will use a portion of the equity raise to finalize engineering design for the company’s first commercial facility. This work will be supported by leading international engineering firm, URS Corp., as the company recently announced. The funding will also provide capital to construct Cool Planet’s first commercial plant, which will be located at the Port of Alexandria, La. The company expects the facility to be in operation before the end of 2014, producing high-octane cellulosic gasoline and soil enhancing biochar from wood biomass. “We are very pleased to have attracted investors from around the world, which will accelerate the development of our business internationally,” said Cool Planet Chief Financial Officer Barry Rowan. “This funding, combined with the strong ongoing commitments from our current investors, keeps us squarely on our path to commercialization.” The round added investors from Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Mexico to a marquee existing investor base, including North Bridge Venture Partners, Shea Ventures, BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy), and the Constellation division of Exelon. The new investors are committing to help bring Cool Planet’s drop-in fuel technology to countries around the world, and Cool Planet is actively developing partnerships to commercialize its technology internationally. Continue reading
Cool Planet To Open First Commercial Biorefinery In Louisiana
Cool Planet Energy Systems will open their first commercial biorefinery in Alexandria, Louisiana. The facility on the Port of Alexandria in Rapides Parish will serve as a showcase facility leading the way for Cool Planet to build similar facilities across the United States. Construction on the facility is expected to be complete before the end of 2014. Cool Planet is a developer of small scale biorefineries which convert non-food biomass into gasoline, jet fuel and soil enhancing biochar. “Louisiana is known for its substantial oil interests, but now will also have the distinction of being home to the first, of what is planned to become many, production facilities for Cool Planet’s renewable, high-performance gasoline and soil enhancing biochar,” said chief executive officer Howard Janzen. “Our goal for the Alexandria facility is to be economically competitive with conventional fuels made from non-renewable crude oil.” Alexandria was chosen as the site of their first commercial biorefinery due to the support shown by the city of Alexandria and the economic development team from the state of Louisiana. The location also provides access to an abundance of renewable biomass feedstock as well as easy access to barges, rail lines and trucks by which the biomass based products can be distributed. It is believed that the Cool Planet facility will have one of the lowest capital costs per plant in the refining industry, with project economics that work at facilities that are a 100 times smaller then conventional refineries as well as the ability to use a wide variety of biomass materials as inputs. Cool Planet processes biomass through a mechanical biomass fractionating system that uses pressure and heat to create a series of useful volatile components that then go through proprietary catalytic systems to make fuel and biochar. Cool Planet’s technology has attracted investors such as include General Electric, Google Ventures, BP, ConocoPhillips, NRG and the Constellation Energy division of Excelon. – EcoSeed Staff Continue reading
