Cowboy Clean Fuels (CCF), an advanced climate tech and energy transition company, has successfully raised a sum worth $13 million in Series B equity financing. Led by Houston-based Machan Investments, the family office of former energy executive Dan Dinges, the round would go on to see another cash injection of $7 million, provided by the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA). According to certain reports, CCF plans on using these newly-raised funds to facilitate the commercialization of its groundbreaking technology focused upon simultaneous renewable natural gas (RNG) production and permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide. Owing to WEA’s participation, a part of the capital will also go towards the development of CCF’s first commercial project in Wyoming, the Triangle Unit Renewable Energy and Carbon Capture and Storage (TRECCS) Project. More on the stated project will reveal how, after receiving the approval for a Notice to Inject from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), the TRECCS effort has already injected 15,000 barrels of mixed feedstock for microbial conversion to methane and carbon dioxide. Anyway, turning our attention towards CCF’s core focus i.e. RNG. In essence, RNG happens to have one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets in the United States, offering a cost-effective decarbonization pathway for various industrial processes. This growth is materializing right alongside the renewed importance that is being allotted to the carbon dioxide removal market. Keeping all that in mind, CCF’s first project is expected to produce approximately 600 million cubic feet of pipeline-ready RNG annually at full scale. All in all, the company’s technology, which is developed by Dr. Michael Urynowicz and licensed from the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, is seemingly well-equipped to sequester approximately 180,000 metric tons of CO2e per year at scale.
Interestingly enough, the latter detail makes for a significant detail, as unlike most other solutions currently on the market that only focus on generating renewable energy, CCF’s technology also permanently sequesters carbon dioxide through a physical adsorption process which remains stable under naturally occurring hydrostatic pressure so to ensure long-term carbon removal.
“Cowboy’s technology is coming to market at a critical juncture in both RNG and CDR markets. Demand for RNG is growing beyond the traditional transportation fuel markets, however traditional RNG supply volumes are constrained and require higher end buyer prices to Cowboy. Similarly, demand for high quality, long duration carbon removal is exploding, but at high costs – emerging solutions like DAC are not yet ready to deliver. The investor community recognized that Cowboy is ready to carve out a leadership position in both sectors by delivering both RNG and CDR attributes and credits to market in the near term,” said Susan Vick Dinges of Syren Capital.
Hold on, there is more. You see, we still haven’t acknowledged how the $20 million it has raised from its recently-concluded round promises to make CCF the largest global producers of both RNG and CDR credits. Another thing we haven’t yet touched upon is that, by scaling its technology throughout the Powder River Basin, CCF can play a huge role in helping Wyoming become the largest producing state for RNG and sequestered CO2.
“I am looking forward to joining the Cowboy Board, and guiding the management team as they work to achieve the next technology, commercial and market milestones for the company. Cowboy’s leadership has done an exceptional job positioning the company for success on every dimension – commercially, they are unparalleled in scale to deliver RNG and sequester carbon in the growing voluntary markets,” said David Kailbourne, CEO of REV LNG, LLC and Renewable Operations Company, LLC.
