EE-AGG Board Members John Wooley and Mark Edelman attended the XPRIZE Summit in New York City on June 12, 2017.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Thursday, October 20, 2016
EE-AGG Advances in $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE
Iowa Team Reimagines What Can Be Done with CO2 Waste
(Boone, IA) An Iowa-led collaboration of rural investors, business leaders and engineering companies called the EE-AGG Team, today announced that it has been named as one of the 27 teams advancing in the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, a global competition to develop breakthrough technologies that convert the most carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas power plant facilities into products with the highest net value.
The EE-AGG Team is a private
sector venture that includes investors from Iowa, Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas. The Team is coordinated by agricultural
economist and university professor Dr. Mark Edelman of Boone, Iowa; and
includes John Wooley, Earth Energy business executive from Austin, Texas; Dave
Stevens, operations manager for a western Iowa rural electric cooperative; Dr.
Zhichao Wang, carbon consultant for EcoEngineers based in Des Moines, Iowa. The
Team’s initiative is based on initial experiments involving proprietary BTE
technologies and technical engineering and feasibility analyses of multiple
scenarios conducted by a California-based process engineering and project
management company that serves multiple energy sectors in 45 countries globally.
The EE-AGG Team has been
selected for the second round of competition by proposing to convert CO2 waste
emitted from coal and natural gas power plants in combination with renewable
power from wind and solar sources and carbonaceous feedstocks, including lignin
and renewable natural gas, into industrial alcohol-based intermediate products
for use in production of chemicals, construction materials, plastics, and biodiesel.
EE-AGG is one of 13 teams selected for
competition in CO2 conversion from coal emissions, and one of 21 teams for CO2
conversion of natural gas emissions.
Launched in September 2015,
the Carbon XPRIZE competition addresses global CO2 emissions by incentivizing
innovative solutions to convert CO2 from a liability into an asset.
Co-sponsored by NRG and COSIA, the four-and-a-half-year competition is designed
to address CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, a leading contributor to climate
change. Semi-finalist teams hail from Canada, China, India, Switzerland,
Scotland and the United States, and among the teams competing are leading
carbon capture technology companies, top-tier academic institutions,
non-profits and new startups. The advancing teams propose converting CO2 into
products as varied as enhanced concrete, biofuels, toothpaste, nanotubes, fish
food and fertilizer.
Teams selected to participate
in Round 2 of the competition will demonstrate their innovative technology at
pilot scale at a location of their own choosing, using either real flue gas or
simulated flue gas stream. Over a ten-month period, teams must meet minimum
requirements and will be scored on how much CO2 they convert and the net value
of their products. Following Round 2 judging scheduled for November and
December 2017, up to five teams in each track that score the highest will share
a $2.5 million milestone purse and move onto the finals of the competition,
demonstrating their technology at real-world power plants.
About the NRG COSIA Carbon
XPRIZE
Few challenges are greater
and more critical than ensuring access to clean, affordable and abundant
energy. As the global energy supply remains primarily derived from fossil fuels
– the leading contributor to climate change – the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE
will challenge the world to reimagine what we can do with CO2 emissions by
incentivizing and accelerating the development of technologies that convert CO2
from a liability into valuable products. For more information, visit: carbon.xprize.org.
# # #
Media Contact:
Alex Merk
515-290-4575
alexandria.merk@gmail.com
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Carbon XPRIZE Announces Iowa Team among 47 in Global CO2 Competition
LOS ANGELES (July 27, 2016) — XPRIZE, the
world’s leader in designing and managing incentive competitions to solve
humanity’s grand challenges, today announced a total of 47 entries from seven
countries will contend to win the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, a global
competition to develop breakthrough technologies that convert the most CO2
into one or more products with the highest net value. Competing teams
hail from Canada, China, India, Finland, Switzerland, Scotland and the United
States. An Advisory Board of nine leading experts in the fields of chemical and
biological engineering, energy and sustainability and public policy, also
announced today, will advise the Carbon XPRIZE.
The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, launched in September 2015,
addresses global CO2 emissions by incentivizing innovative solutions
to convert CO2 from a liability into an asset. The 4-½ year
competition will include two tracks, with the new technologies tested at either
a coal power plant or a natural gas facility. Among the teams competing are
leading carbon capture technology companies, top-tier academic institutions,
non-profits, new startups and even a father and son team. A complete listing of
teams competing in Round 1 is posted on the XPRIZE site: www.xprize.org .
“These teams, as well as our advisory board, represent an
exciting mix of talent with expertise across a broad spectrum of sciences that
will be applied to create technologies that mitigate CO2 emissions
globally,” said Paul Bunje, Ph.D., principal and senior scientist, Energy and
Environment group at XPRIZE. “Such widespread interest and support demonstrates
an unwavering global commitment to take a radical leap forward to address
climate change.”
The $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE features three rounds of
competition. In Round 1, each team
submitted project documents surrounding technical and business viability
assessments of its approach, and independent panel judging underway. Up to 15
semi-finalist teams in each track are scheduled to be announced on Oct. 15,
2016. Round 2 enables teams to
demonstrate their technologies in a controlled environment using a simulated
power plant flue gas stream, with up to five teams in each track moving forward
and sharing a $2.5 million milestone purse. Round 3 entails larger scale technology
demonstration under real world conditions, with access to two test centers
adjacent to existing power plants. In each track, the winner will be awarded a
$7.5 million grand prize.
An Iowa-based team called EE-AGG is among the 47 entries
competing in the Carbon XPRIZE Competition. The EE-AGG Team is coordinated by
Dr. Mark Edelman, economist and Iowa State University professor from Boone, IA. Along with Edelman, EE-AGG includes Dr. Eric
Wagner, Vice President for Technology Development, Technip Stone and Webster Process
Technology Inc., from Claremont, CA; John Wooley, Earth Energy Renewables business
leader from Austin, TX; David Stevens, Director of Operations and Economic
Development Program Manager for Harrison County Rural Electric Cooperative
located at Woodbine IA; Dr. Zhichao Wang, Carbon Consultant for EcoEngineers based
in Des Moines, IA; and 22 other company board members and technical advisors
from across the country. EE-AGG is commercializing
proprietary processes developed by Dr. Gary Young, P.E., Bio-Thermal-Energy
Inc., of Cedar Rapids, IA in combination with other commercially available
technologies.
-30-
Media Contacts: Eric Desatnik / Jackie Wei
310.741.4892 / 310.741.4918
Iowa Team Contacts: Mark Edelman / Alex Merk
515.298.1871 / 515.290.4575
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Young Presents Paper at National Advanced Biofuels Conference
October 13, 2014
Gary C. Young, Ph.D., P.E. presented a paper titled, “B-T-E’S Proprietary Process for Conversion of CO2 to Green Fuels and Chemicals, including highlights from an independent assessment by Technip [Technip, Stone and Webster Process Technologies].” at the National Advanced Biofuels Conference, Minneapolis, MN; October 13-14, 2014.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Young Presents Paper at TCS Symposium
September 3, 2014
Gary C. Young, Ph.D. P.E. presented a paper titled, “B-T-E’S Proprietary Process for Conversion of CO2 to Green Fuels and Chemicals, including highlights from an independent assessment by Technip [Technip, Stone and Webster Process Technologies]” at the TCS-2014 Symposium on Thermal & Catalytic Sciences for Biofuels & Biobased Products, sponsored by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Iowa State University Bioeconomy Institute. Denver, CO on September 03, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Edelman Presents Paper at IAEE Annual Meeting
June 16, 2014
Mark A. Edelman, Ph.D. economist presented a paper co-authored by Gary C. Young, Ph.D. P.E., John C. Wooley, and Eric Wagner, Ph.D. P.E., titled, “A Commercialization Case Study of New Technology for Conversion of CO2 Emissions to Alcohol Fuels for Stimulating Economic Growth.” at a session of the International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE) Annual Meetings in New York, NY on June 15-18, 2014.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Midwest Ethanol Could Become A Primary Global Carbon Offset Industry
Omaha, NE— A new technology could soon multiply the amount of biofuels produced in the Midwest while it reduces CO2 emissions that many scientists think negatively impact climate change. Even better yet, the new advanced biofuel can be produced competitively at corn-ethanol facilities--without using more corn, says a chemical engineer speaking to the National Advanced Biofuels Conference at the Omaha CenturyLink Center.
Dr. Gary C. Young, P.E., President, of Bio-Thermal-Energy, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa told participants at the Conference that the new proprietary technology uses gasification to convert a stream of CO2 in combination with another carbonaceous feedstock into syngas, which can in turn be further processed with other commercially available technologies to produce electricity, process heat, or to produce methanol, ethanol, green gasoline, and/or higher value products. The B-T-E technology proposes to reduce and recycle the current waste streams of CO2 emissions from ethanol plants and other industries that many scientists say are causing harmful changes to the climate and then use the CO2 as an input feed for economical production of higher value products.
Young says that recent experimental demonstrations at a 12.5 ton per day scale conducted at a private third-party pilot plant facility has demonstrated the process works and shows that it may soon be possible to competitively double the amount of biofuel produced at an existing corn-ethanol facility without using more corn.
“The B-T-E technology could build a bridge between the ethanol industry and the natural gas industry to help reach national goals for energy independence at a time when certain parts of the world remain subject to terrorism and instability,” he said.
“The B-T-E technology may also be an important bridge between ethanol and environmentalists by reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere,” said Young.
Concerns about climate change have been increasing with an apparent rise in the number of recent natural disasters and weather related events such as Hurricane Sandy, droughts and forest fires. In May 2013, scientists for the first time measured an average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide of 400 parts per million in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observatory is located.
Also in May, an Interagency Task Force of the federal government released estimates of social costs from carbon emissions projected for 2010 to 2050. For 2020, estimates of the social costs ranged from $12 to $129 per metric ton of CO2 emissions. Young says a typical 100 mgy ethanol plant generates 37.7 tons of CO2 per hour. If the plant deployed the BTE technology, about $3 million in extra revenue could be generated annually at a $10 per ton compensation rate. Recent media reports that California Air Resources Board (CARB) is proceeding with the implementation of a carbon offset incentive program in that state.
Young says the corn ethanol industry represents “low hanging fruit” for the new B-T-E technology because CO2 emissions into the atmosphere from the fermenters of a typical ethanol plant are 97 percent pure. As a result, it is an excellent feedstock for the CO2 conversion process that uses the waste stream in combination with another carbonaceous input--such as biomass, natural gas, coal, and coke—to produce syngas that would be used as an input for other products.
“If done right, the BTE technology could improve the economics of the Midwest corn-ethanol industry and at the same time turn it into the number one global carbon offset industry within a very short period of years,” said Young.
Young said the proprietary BTE technology is licensed to a joint venture
involving Earth Energy, which has investors including retired General Wesley Clark and John and Jeff Wooley from Austin,Texas, and American Green Gasoline, LLC, which has investors from Western Iowa and Northeast Kansas. Currently a third-party engineering design and economic feasibility study is being conducted to scale up to commercialization.
For more information see:
Dr. Gary Young, P.E., B-T-E, Inc. (319) 373-5191 www.b-t-einc.com/
John Wooley, EE-AGG LLC (512) 658-3404
Dave Stevens, AGG LLC (712) 592-1981 www.aggbiofuel.com
Dr. Gary C. Young, P.E., President, of Bio-Thermal-Energy, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa told participants at the Conference that the new proprietary technology uses gasification to convert a stream of CO2 in combination with another carbonaceous feedstock into syngas, which can in turn be further processed with other commercially available technologies to produce electricity, process heat, or to produce methanol, ethanol, green gasoline, and/or higher value products. The B-T-E technology proposes to reduce and recycle the current waste streams of CO2 emissions from ethanol plants and other industries that many scientists say are causing harmful changes to the climate and then use the CO2 as an input feed for economical production of higher value products.
Young says that recent experimental demonstrations at a 12.5 ton per day scale conducted at a private third-party pilot plant facility has demonstrated the process works and shows that it may soon be possible to competitively double the amount of biofuel produced at an existing corn-ethanol facility without using more corn.
“The B-T-E technology could build a bridge between the ethanol industry and the natural gas industry to help reach national goals for energy independence at a time when certain parts of the world remain subject to terrorism and instability,” he said.
“The B-T-E technology may also be an important bridge between ethanol and environmentalists by reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere,” said Young.
Concerns about climate change have been increasing with an apparent rise in the number of recent natural disasters and weather related events such as Hurricane Sandy, droughts and forest fires. In May 2013, scientists for the first time measured an average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide of 400 parts per million in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observatory is located.
Also in May, an Interagency Task Force of the federal government released estimates of social costs from carbon emissions projected for 2010 to 2050. For 2020, estimates of the social costs ranged from $12 to $129 per metric ton of CO2 emissions. Young says a typical 100 mgy ethanol plant generates 37.7 tons of CO2 per hour. If the plant deployed the BTE technology, about $3 million in extra revenue could be generated annually at a $10 per ton compensation rate. Recent media reports that California Air Resources Board (CARB) is proceeding with the implementation of a carbon offset incentive program in that state.
Young says the corn ethanol industry represents “low hanging fruit” for the new B-T-E technology because CO2 emissions into the atmosphere from the fermenters of a typical ethanol plant are 97 percent pure. As a result, it is an excellent feedstock for the CO2 conversion process that uses the waste stream in combination with another carbonaceous input--such as biomass, natural gas, coal, and coke—to produce syngas that would be used as an input for other products.
“If done right, the BTE technology could improve the economics of the Midwest corn-ethanol industry and at the same time turn it into the number one global carbon offset industry within a very short period of years,” said Young.
Young said the proprietary BTE technology is licensed to a joint venture
involving Earth Energy, which has investors including retired General Wesley Clark and John and Jeff Wooley from Austin,Texas, and American Green Gasoline, LLC, which has investors from Western Iowa and Northeast Kansas. Currently a third-party engineering design and economic feasibility study is being conducted to scale up to commercialization.
-30-
For more information see:
Dr. Gary Young, P.E., B-T-E, Inc. (319) 373-5191 www.b-t-einc.com/
John Wooley, EE-AGG LLC (512) 658-3404
Dave Stevens, AGG LLC (712) 592-1981 www.aggbiofuel.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)