30 Hottest Companies in Renewable Chemicals sneak preview: SynGest

Note to Community members: Welcome to the sneak preview of the 30 Hottest Companies in Renewable Chemicals competition. This month, we are profiling nominees (not winners). Below, we are asking you to rate the companies. Digest Community member ratings will form 33 percent of the overall ballot for this years Hot 30.

Company name: SynGest Inc.

Company description: Production of specialty chemicals using proprietary biomass gasification to produce anhydrous ammonia/urea (nitrogen fertilizer), methanol, dimethyl ether, polypropylene.

Year Founded: 2008

Chief Executive Officer: Jack Oswald

Annual Revenues: Not provided

Major Investors (if a public company, please provide trading symbol and exchange). Founder financed.

Type of Processing Technology(ies) : (if applicable) Oxyblown 2-stage biomass gasification that solves the so-called “gas cleanup” problem. Primary gasifier with 95% oxygen environment followed by oxygen enhanced catalytic auto-thermal reformer. Stage 1 produces primarily syngas (CO and H2) while Stage 2 reforms all tars, BTX and most methane into additional syngas. The 2-stage approach achieves the highest possible biomass to syngas conversion yields while allowing for waste heat recovery sufficient to co-generate enough electric power to allow the plants to be completely off-grid.

Products: (renewable chemicals (base, fine, speciality, or platform), or bio-based materials (plastics, polymers, monomers, resins, lubricants, inks, detergents, surfactants, rubbers, adhesives, hardeners, additives, or other materials) A range of products although primary focus has been on the production of anhydrous ammonia and/or urea to be used as nitrogen fertilizer. Engineering has been completed for projects that would produce methanol, DME and propylene.

Feedstocks: Untreated plant-based biomass of any quality. Decommisioned railroad ties.

Product Cost (if applicable – per US pound): (If you do not manufacture or have long-term stable feedstock pricing, please use the latest December futures contract pricing for traded feedstocks, or $55/ton for untraded biomass – or provide notes on your own feedstock pricing assumptions). At available feedstock prices of $25/T cash flow break-even production of anhydrous ammonia at $300/T.

Offtake partners (if applicable). Unannounced major Midwest agribusiness.

Co-products (if applicable) (e.g. feed, fuel) Biochar.

3 Top Milestones for 2009‐10
(1)    Signed contracts with the entire execution team including (a) Weitz Industrial Services as EPC, (b) Ambitech Engineering, (c) Alion Science and Technology for gasifier optimization [major: guaranteeing the performance of the gasifier unit operations] and (d) Unitel Technologies for process design.
(2)    Completed contract with the State of Iowa Power Fund for a grant of $2.5 million to support the pre-construction engineering of the forts commercial scale facility to be built in Iowa.
(3)    Establishment of matching long term feedstock and offtake agreements that meet project finance requirements.

3 Major Milestone Goals for 2011‐13
(1)    Complete FEED
(2)    Financial close for first commercial scale project
(3)    Begin commercial production

Business Model: (e.g. owner-operator, technology licensor, fee-based industry supplier, investor) Technology licensing, project development, facility management, minority owner.

Competitive Edge(s): Patent-pending 2-stage biomass gasifier technology, fertilizer industry expertise, deep project development and execution skills.

Distribution, Research, Marketing or Production Partnerships or Alliances.

Stage (Bench, pilot, demonstration, commercial). FEED/Pre-construction engineering leading up to construction of first commercial scale facility.

Projected production volume for 2011: N/A

Website URL : www.SynGest.com