CNX Shows How It’s Done via Old Fashioned Capitalism
Jim Willis on NGL Pipelines
Editor & Publisher, Marcellus Drilling News (MDN)
[Editor’s Note: CNX is using carbon capture technology to make money generating biodegradable plastics through its investment in NewLight Technologies that produces “AirCarbon.”]
CNX Resources has invested in a California company that makes a biodegradable plastic substitute out of methane. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. CNX also announced a 15-year agreement to supply captured waste methane from third party industrial activities in the Appalachian region to provide the raw methane that will be used as the feedstock for biodegradable plastics. NewLight Technologies Inc. uses ocean microbes that feed on methane and produce a material it calls AirCarbon, which mimics the properties of plastic.
CNX is in the methane-capturing business. By removing methane from places where it normally escapes into the atmosphere, CNX further reduces so-called greenhouse gas emissions that leftists claim is toasting the planet. Whatever. CNX captures and sells methane because it produces a profit. Everybody wins. That’s just smart business.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
CNX Resources Corp. has invested in a California-based biotechnology firm that makes a biodegradable plastic substitute out of methane.
The value of the equity investment was not disclosed, but CNX has committed to a 15-year deal with NewLight Technologies Inc. in which the Cecil-based oil and gas company will supply some of the methane for the production of the biomaterial.
CNX already pulls methane from coal mines and burns it, which decreases the climate impact of the gas. If vented directly into the atmosphere, methane has many times the global warming potential carbon dioxide. Based on this accounting, CNX estimated last year that the company is carbon negative.
NewLight says the same of its process. Founded nearly a decade ago, the company uses ocean microbes that feed on methane and produce a material it calls AirCarbon, which mimics the properties of plastic.
It then converts that ocean bug waste into several products, including eyeglass frames, leather-like wallets and phone covers, and disposable utensils. If these materials end up in the ocean, as so much of the plastic used today does, they will degrade there through the same biological process that brought them into being, the company says.
NewLight plans to build a manufacturing facility at the Long Ridge Energy Terminal in Hannibal, Ohio, where a natural gas powerplant is titrating increasing amounts of hydrogen into the fuel mix.
According to a press release, “The strategic partnership, with CNX capturing methane gas to support NewLight’s manufacturing needs, is expected to result in several manufacturing facilities in the Appalachian region and advance critical decarbonization goals while boosting area economic activity, capital investment, and job growth.”
The statement says that CNX will gather, process and deliver methane through its existing and new pipelines. (1)
Newlight Technologies, Inc. (Newlight) and CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) today announced that the companies have entered into a 15-year agreement to capture and utilize methane emissions for the production of Aircarbon®, a naturally-occurring molecule also known as PHB that replaces plastic but is carbon-negative and biologically degrades in natural environments.
Under the agreement, CNX and Newlight will work together to capture waste methane from third party industrial activity that would typically be vented to atmosphere. CNX will gather, process, and deliver the methane through new and existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure, and Newlight will acquire contractual rights to a portion of the captured methane to support the production of Aircarbon, similar to how solar, wind, and renewable natural gas are delivered contractually through new and existing grid infrastructure. Combined, by using greenhouse gas as a resource to make a naturally-occurring material that replaces plastic, the agreement will enable the large-scale reduction of both carbon emissions and plastic pollution.
“CNX is a world leader in methane capture and processing, and by partnering with their exceptional team, we will have the opportunity to meaningfully reduce the amount of carbon going into the air and plastic going into the ocean,” said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema. “Our goal is to abate methane emissions at world scale through the application of biological carbon capture, and this agreement takes us another step closer to that goal. We’re thrilled to have a strategic growth partner in CNX that shares our commitment to sustainable solutions and environmentally responsibly outcomes.”
The strategic partnership, with CNX capturing methane gas to support Newlight’s manufacturing needs, is expected to result in several manufacturing facilities in the Appalachian region and advance critical decarbonization goals while boosting area economic activity, capital investment, and job growth. The initial 15-year contract aligns with CNX’s commercial and capital allocation strategies in the decarbonization space and further solidifies Newlight’s position as a leader in carbon capture technology.
Newlight has recently announced plans to build a carbon capture-based manufacturing facility in partnership with Long Ridge Energy Terminal, a subsidiary of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC in Hannibal, Ohio, and Newlight’s contractual rights to methane emissions derived from Newlight’s agreement with CNX will be used to create a portion of the Aircarbon being produced at the new Ohio facility. The greenhouse gas feedstock that will support production at the Ohio facility is also expected to include, over time, methane from anaerobic digestion of food and agricultural waste, as well as carbon dioxide from energy facilities and direct air capture.
“For years, government and economic development officials have worked to leverage the vast energy resources found in the Appalachian basin as a catalyst for economic growth and new manufacturing,” said CNX President of New Technologies Ravi Srivastava. “CNX is excited to work with Newlight to immediately accelerate those efforts.
Our Tangible, Impactful, Local ESG approach clearly demonstrates that assets and technologies unique to CNX and Appalachia can be leveraged to positively impact environmental and socio-economic challenges – from local to global – while ensuring that our region and the middle class are strengthened and supported in the process. We believe that is the definition of sustainability.”
Mr. Srivastava continued, “Like our recently announced partnership with Pittsburgh International Airport, our work alongside Newlight will showcase CNX’s unique combination of assets, innovative technologies, and proven operational expertise that are poised to help lead the sustainable energy revolution.”
Launching its first commercial-scale Aircarbon production facility in 2020, today Newlight’s customers and partners include consumer brands such as Shake Shack, Nike, Target, H&M, Ben and Jerry’s, Sumitomo, U.S. Foods, and Sysco.
About Newlight:
Newlight Technologies, Inc. (“Newlight”) is a nature-based technology company converting air and greenhouse gas into a biomaterial called Aircarbon®. Aircarbon is a high-performance, carbon-negative PHB biomaterial produced by naturally-occurring microorganisms that is being used to replace plastic in industrial segments ranging from foodware to fashion. Newlight’s mission is to help end plastic pollution and climate change by replacing plastic with Aircarbon, creating global-scale economic and environmental value. For more information about Newlight and Aircarbon, visit www.aircarbon.com.
About CNX Resources:
CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) is unique. We are a premier, low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 158-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, we responsibly develop our resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities where we operate. As of December 31, 2021, CNX had 9.63 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor’s Midcap 400 Index. Additional information is available at www.cnx.com.
Editor’s Note: CNX is a fascinating company that is unafraid to to exhibit its capitalist roots as it addresses issues so many wrongly suppose only government can make happen. As it turns out, government is typically the problem, not the solution, because it is by pursuing profit to satisfy public needs that most real progress is made. Socialism, by contrast, has never accomplished anything other than spread misery around so everyone and everything is brought down to the same lowest common denominator. Capitalism, not socialism, not ESG and not green new deals is where true progress is to be found.
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