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Leader in industrial scale woody biomass to renewable gasoline and green hydrogen projects to decarbonize transportation fuels

HOUSTON, Texas – (BUSINESS WIRE) – Arbor Renewable Gas, LLC (“Arbor Gas”) announced today its underlying capital commitment from EnCap Investments L.P. (“EnCap”), a leading provider of equity capital to the independent sector of the U.S. energy industry, and from Mercuria Energy Company, LLC (“Mercuria”), a leading global energy and commodity trading organization. 

SunGas Renewables(“SunGas”), a subsidiary of GTI International (GTII), has entered into an exclusive Joint Development Agreement with Arbor Gas to provide its gasification systems to Arbor Gas projects. Haldor Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emissions reduction technologies, licensed its proprietary process and technology for methanol and gasoline synthesis. 

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Arbor Gas is developing state-of-the-art, industrial scale renewable gasoline and green hydrogen projects to accelerate the U.S. transition to low carbon fuels, helping to shape a more diverse and sustainable transportation system. Arbor Gas’ strategy is to design, build, own, and operate facilities that efficiently convert woody biomass into low carbon intensity renewable gasoline and green hydrogen.

“Our commitment to the Arbor Gas team is continuing EnCap’s tradition of investing in the right management teams to take advantage of a growing opportunity in the energy space. We believe the platform is well-positioned to play a critical role in the production of cost-effective, low carbon intensity fuels at scale and concurrently deliver compelling returns to our limited partners,” said Kyle Kafka, EnCap Partner.  

“The Arbor Gas team has an extensive and proven track record developing, constructing, and operating large scale alternative energy projects. We believe this is a unique opportunity to supply renewable gasoline and associated low carbon fuels to strategic markets,” said EnCap Managing Partner Kellie Metcalf. “Arbor Gas has a scalable business that can deliver clean fuels to multiple markets, aiding the transition to a low carbon energy economy.”

“Mercuria is pleased to have the opportunity to participate alongside EnCap in backing the excellent management team of Arbor Gas for its development of a high-value, low-carbon transportation fuel infrastructure portfolio. The Arbor Gas investment furthers Mercuria’s commitment to the development of innovative projects with leading technology partners in the global transition towards sustainable energy production,” said Brian A. Falik, Mercuria Chief Investment Officer.

“The SunGas and Arbor Gas management teams have deep experience deploying technology around the world, ”said Robert Rigdon, CEO of SunGas. “Our agreement with Arbor Gas provides exclusive access to our gasification technology system for production of renewable gasoline in Texas and Louisiana. We believe Arbor Gas has the right team, financing, and commercial approach to lead in the decarbonization of the transportation fuels marketplace.”

“We are proud that Arbor Gas has chosen Haldor Topsoe technology in this truly innovative project to decarbonize transportation fuels,” said Amy Hebert, CCO of Haldor Topsoe. “We are pleased to contribute with our world-leading TIGAS™ technology, which is a uniquely integrated solution ,incorporating the full value chain from syngas to methanol into gasoline.” 

“The Arbor Gas team has been financing, building and operating world-scale energy conversion facilities for decades, with a focus on safe and efficient operations,” said Timothy E. Vail, CEO of Arbor Gas. “Bringing proven industrial scale development leadership has been the missing component to delivering cost competitive broad scale distribution of low carbon transportation fuels. With the funding of Arbor Gas, we now have the opportunity to use these skills to advance the global fuel decarbonization effort in a meaningful way.”

The team at Arbor Gas is led by Co-Founders, Chief Executive Officer Timothy E. Vail and John G. Kennedy III, both of whom have a depth of experience in the development, financing, and operation of world-scale facilities. Mr. Vail has over 25 years of experience in alternative energy, developing technology and building plants in the fuel cell, hydrogen, and methanol businesses. Mr. Kennedy has over 25 years of energy finance expertise in dealing with energy capital markets, debt financing and structured transactions. Joined by other experienced team members, the Arbor Gas team most recently constructed and operated the world’s largest methanol plant in Beaumont, Texas, a multi-billion-dollar project that converted natural gas into commercial methanol. 

About Arbor Renewable Gas, LLC
Arbor Gas’ mission is to build out a fleet of cost-effective, safe, and reliable woody biomass to renewable gasoline and renewable hydrogen plants around the world. With an initial focus on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, Arbor Gas brings a unique blend of management, financing, technology and project execution skills to successfully advance its vision of a clean, low carbon transportation fleet utilizing existing infrastructure and vehicles.

About EnCap Investments L.P.
Since 1988, EnCap Investments has been the leading provider of growth capital to the independent sector of the U.S. energy industry. The firm has raised 22 institutional investment funds totaling over $38 billion and currently manages capital on behalf of more than 350 U.S. and international investors. EnCap has invested capital in more than 240 companies. 

About Mercuria Energy Company, LLC
Founded in2004, Mercuria is one of the largest independent energy and commodity groups in the world. As an integrated group, Mercuria is present all along the commodity value chain with activities forming a balanced combination of trading flows, strategic assets and structuring solutions. With more than USD 100 billion in turnover, Mercuria has become one of the most active players in the energy and renewables markets. Mercuria has committed to having fifty percent of all of its investments be for the energy transition by 2026. 

About SunGas Renewables
SunGas Renewables, a subsidiary of GTI International, Inc., delivers cost-effective technology solutions and energy products for companies needing to lower their carbon footprint to address ESG and regulatory goals and mandates. SunGas is driving commercialization by providing licensed technology, equipment systems, and services, as well as through selective investments in renewable energy projects utilizing its technology. 

About Haldor Topsoe
Haldor Topsoe is a global leader in supply of catalysts, technology, and services to the chemical and refining industries. Topsoe aims to be the global leader within carbon emission reduction technologies by 2024. By perfecting chemistry for a better world, we enable our customers to succeed in the transition towards renewable energy. Topsoe is headquartered in Denmark and serves customers around the globe. In 2020, our revenue was approximately DKK 6.2billion, and we employ around 2,200 employees.