ADVERTISEABOUT USSUBMIT A STORYSUBSCRIBETERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY
Visit our family of Brands

New York financial firm partners with Houston O&G co. to turn natural gas into blue hydrogen

teamwork

The new initiative will take stranded natural gas and turn it into hydrogen. Photo via Getty Images

A new partnership between an energy and sustainability investor and a Houston-based company that focuses on cleaner solutions in the oil and gas industry will look into turning stranded natural gas into blue hydrogen.

New York-based Double Zero Holdings and SJ Environmental announced their new partnership this week in an effort to move forward the energy transition. According to the companies, stranded natural gas — mostly methane — usually remains unused where it is not economically viable to transport. By turning these gasses into into blue hydrogen, "the partnership mitigates methane and CO2 emissions while producing hydrogen—a clean fuel that could revolutionize multiple industries," reads the news release.

The initiative will use existing technologies, which can be reduced to the size of a standard shipping container, per the release.

"We're thrilled to partner with SJ Environmental to tackle one of the most pressing environmental issues today," Raja Ramachandran, managing partner of Double Zero Holdings, says in the release. "This collaboration allows us to turn stranded natural gas—a significant environmental liability—into a valuable resource, supporting the global shift toward cleaner energy."

The plan is to lower the amount of natural gas left wasted and provide a low-carbon alternative across transportation, manufacturing, and power generation.

"Our collaboration with Double Zero Holdings reflects our commitment to innovative, sustainable solutions," SJ Environmental Director John Chappell adds. "Together, we're setting a new standard for energy production, delivering hydrogen and food-grade CO₂ where natural gas would typically be flared."

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

M&A moves: Most trending Houston energy transition news on big deals from 2024

year in review

Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, EnergyCapital is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston energy transition. From acquisitions to consolidations, this year marked a big one for some of Houston's energy companies. Here were the top five most-read articles covering deals of 2024 — be sure to click through to read the full story.

PE firm acquires Houston renewables fuels infrastructure company

Ara Partners announced this week that it has acquired a majority interest in Houston-based USD Clean Fuels. Image via Shutterstock.

Fresh off its $3 billion fund closure, a Houston private equity firm has made its latest acquisition.

Ara Partners announced this week that it has acquired a majority interest in Houston-based USD Clean Fuels, a developer of logistics infrastructure for renewable fuels. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We have high conviction that the green molecules economy – whether it's renewable fuel feedstocks or biofuels – offers disproportionate opportunity for returns and impact," George Yong, partner and co-head of Infrastructure at Ara Partners, says. Continue reading.

McKinsey acquires Houston-area co. to enhance sustainability services

According to McKinsey data, more than $3.5 trillion will be invested in green hydrogen, carbon capture, renewable energy, and other projects that are working toward net-zero transition by 2050. Photo via ses-estimating.com

A global management consulting company has executed on an acquisition key to its plans amid the energy transition.

McKinsey & Company announced the acquisition of Strategic Estimating Systems, a Sugar Land-based consulting firm specializing in cost estimation for oil, gas, and chemical process industries. The acquisition provides McKinsey with enhanced benchmarking capabilities across capital project management — especially within the energy transition.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The capital projects ecosystem is presented with a once-in-a-generation chance to aid in transforming economies to achieve net zero," Justin Dahl, partner and global leader of McKinsey & Company's Capital Analytics, says. Continue reading.

Houston chemical company divests new tech arm to PE

Merichem Company has created a new business unit that's been acquired by a private equity firm. Photo via Getty Images

A New Orleans-based private equity firm has announced the acquisition of a Houston chemical company's technology business unit, the business announced today.

Black Bay Energy Capital acquired a portion of Merichem Company’s business — including its Merichem Process Technologies and Merichem Catalyst Products, which will collectively be renamed Merichem Technologies. Merichem's caustic services business, which handles spent caustic for beneficial reuse, will be maintained by the company.

Cyndie Fredrick has been promoted to CEO of Merichem Technologies. She previously served as Merichem's senior vice president and general manager of Merichem Process Technologies. She's joined by CFO Rene Campos, Senior Vice President of Technology Jeff Gomach, and Senior Vice President of Catalysts William Rouleau, who are all former managers within Merichem.

“The Merichem Technologies team has successfully deployed highly engineered and patented technologies, chemical catalysts, and mechanical solutions to various end markets including liquified natural gas, midstream oil and gas, refining of traditional crude and renewable feedstocks, biogas/landfill/RNG production, geothermal energy production, and chemical manufacturing," Fredrick says. Continue reading.

SLB to consolidate carbon capture business in partnership

The combined technology portfolios will accelerate the introduction of promising early-stage decarbonization technology. Photo via Getty Images

SLB announced its plans to combine its carbon capture business with Norway company, Aker Carbon Capture.

Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of this year, SLB will own 80 percent of the combined business and ACC will own 20 percent.

According to a SLB news release, the combined technology portfolios will accelerate the introduction of promising early-stage decarbonization technology.

“For CCUS to have the expected impact on supporting global net-zero ambitions, it will need to scale up 100-200 times in less than three decades,” Olivier Le Peuch, CEO of SLB, says. Continue reading.

Houston-based co. closes acquisition of 50 percent stake in Texas cogeneration facility

Fengate has completed the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in a Texas cogeneration facility, which supplies power and steam to a major industrial site. Photo via Fengate

Fengate Asset Management announced the financial close on the acquisition of a 50 percent interest in Freeport Power Limited, which owns a 440-megawatt cogeneration facility in Freeport, Texas.

FPL is located near the Freeport Energy Center, which is a 260-megawatt cogeneration facility that is currently owned and managed by Fengate. The two facilities work to provide cost-effective power and steam to Dow’s Freeport site, which is the largest integrated chemical manufacturing complex in the Western Hemisphere.

“We are thrilled to have closed this acquisition, which aligns with our strategy of acquiring behind-the-meter cogeneration projects with strong industrial partners like Dow,” Greg Calhoun, managing director of Infrastructure Investments at Fengate, says. Continue reading.

Houston innovator tackles tire waste with hot new plant launching in 2025

listen in

Vibhu Sharma observed a huge sustainability problem within the automotive industry, and he was tired of no one doing anything about it.

"Globally, humans dispose 1 billion tires every year," Sharma says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "It's a massive environmental and public health problem because these tires can take hundreds of years to break down, and what they start doing is leaking chemicals into the soil."

Today, 98 percent of all tires end up in landfills, Sharma says, and this waste contributes to a multitude of problems — from mosquito and pest infestation to chemical leaks and fire hazards. That's why he founded InnoVent Renewables, a Houston-based company that uses its proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology to convert waste tires into valuable fuels, steel, and chemicals.

While the process of pyrolysis — decomposing materials using high heat — isn't new, InnoVent's process has a potential to be uniquely impactful. As Sharma explains on the show, he's targeting areas with an existing supply of waste tires. The company's first plant — located in Monterrey, Mexico — is expected to go online early in the new year, an impressive accomplishment considering Sharma started his company just over a year ago and bootstrapped the business with only a friends and family round of funding.

"It's about 16 months or so from start to commercial operations, which is phenomenal when you consider what it takes to build and operate a chemical or petrochemical facility," Sharma says.

Currently, with the facility close to operations, Sharma is looking to secure customers for the plant's products — which includes diesel, steel, and carbon black — and he doesn't have to look too far out of the automotive industry for his potential customer base. Additionally, the plant should be net zero by day one, since Sharma says he will be using the output to fuel operations.

While the first facility is in Mexico, Sharma says they are already looking at potential secondary locations with Texas at the top of his list. Houston, where Sharma has worked for 26 years, has been a strategic headquarters for InnoVent.

"When it came to doing the research and development, we were able to work with experts in the Houston and Texas areas to test out our idea and validate it," Sharma says. "One thing that gets under appreciated about Houston is how well it's connected to the rest of the world. There are so many direct connections between Houston and Latin America, as well as Europe, Middle East, and Asia."

"I also find that the Houston ecosystem is very supportive of new companies and helping them grow," he adds.

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Houston clean fuels co. secures $50M investment from Diamondback Energy subsidiary

money moves

Verde Clean Fuels announced the entry into a stock purchase agreement with Cottonmouth Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Diamondback Energy.

With the deal, Midland, Texas-based Cottonmouth will make a $50 million equity investment into Houston-based Verde.

The investment will consist of the purchase of 12.5 million shares of Verde’s Class A common stock at a purchase price of $4.00 per share. Closing of the investment is anticipated to occur during the first quarter of the new year, which will be subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The investment would represent the second investment by Cottonmouth in Verde over the past two years, which would equal a total investment of $70 million. This would make Cottonmouth the second largest shareholder of Verde.

“We are pleased to further our relationship with Diamondback and continue advancing our plans to deploy our technology through the development of commercial production plants,” Ernest Miller, CEO of Verde, says in a news release. “Diamondback is a strategic industry partner at the forefront of bringing sustainable operational practices to the oilfield and supporting the overall transition to clean energy.”

Verde Clean Fuels key pioneering technology is its "syngas-to-gasoline plus" (STG+®), which turns diverse feedstocks like biomass, municipal solid waste (MSW), and natural gas – into gasoline or methanol. Verde is able to deploy facilities in areas with abundant and low-cost feedstock. The company has developed two different pathways to gasoline production with the goal of reducing carbon emissions.

Proceeds from the investment are expected to be used to further the development and construction of potential “natural gas-to-gasoline production plants in the Permian Basin and for other general corporate purposes,” according to Verde Clean Fuels. The proposed plants developed by the parties would produce fully-refined gasoline utilizing Verde’s patented STG+® process from associated natural gas feedstock supplied from Diamondback's operations in the Permian Basin. Verde will also expand its board of directors to eight members and appoint a new director to be designated by Cottonmouth. Cottonmouth will be entitled to appoint an observer to the company’s board.

“This investment is an expression of confidence in our technology, which we believe has the potential to alleviate economic and environmental concerns in the Permian Basin and other pipeline-constrained basins, where flaring and stranded natural gas represent a significant challenge,” Miller adds in the release.

View All Listings