Frontieras’ Clean Technology Accelerates Great American Coal Conversion
Written by Matthew McKean, CEO and co-founder of Frontieras North America (LinkedIn)
Frontieras FASForm™ is an innovative clean technology poised to reinvigorate the use of coal, extend the lifespan of existing coal plants, and increase the output of available hydrocarbon-based energy.
Fossil fuels continue to play a significant role in addressing energy needs. The United States, along with all industrialized countries around the globe, was founded on the use of coal to create energy, steel, and cement. And yet, coal plants today are facing decommissioning because of rising costs, alternative energy sources, increased regulatory requirements and the anti-coal narrative encapsulated by the unrealistic “NetZero by 2050” initiative.
At the end of 2022, there were 225 operational coal processing plants in the United States accounting for almost 22% of the energy consumed in the U.S. Since 2010, 290 coal power plants have closed. Coal plant closures have immediate and long-term negative impacts at the local, state, and national levels.
Local: Perhaps the hardest hit are the communities where the plant provides a significant job base (with average salary well above the national average at $90,000), annual tax revenue that supports public services (fire, police, schools, etc.) as well as a vested partner that has been an integral part of the fabric of the community.
State: Coal processing plants have been an economic boon for states as they have benefited from available energy, while gaining employment and tax dollars. Today, states that use coal as a primary energy source include:
▪ West Virginia (88.6 %)
▪ Wyoming (79.4 %)
▪ Missouri (71.3 %)
▪ Kentucky (68.7%)
National: Coal is a proven pathway to energy independence for the United States. The ability for the U.S. to create abundant, available and affordable energy is essential to ensuring its citizens are safe, communities can operate, and the economy can move forward without relying on international partners.
Frontieras’ FASForm plant provides a method for existing coal plants to introduce new technology, produce cleaner products and more efficient yields in the form of gas, liquid and solid energy. Frontieras expects FASForm technology to open the gateway to the great American coal plant conversion.
Specifically, Frontieras’ go-to-market strategy for the FASForm plant is to operate both independently and in conjunction with existing coal plants that are facing decommissioning. In addition to breaking ground to construct the first standalone plant in West Virginia, the FASForm plants’ small footprint allows it to be built adjacent to and expand the lifecycle and value of existing coal plants. Frontieras’ cooperative approach allows it to modernize existing coal plants, meet changing regulatory requirements and improve the output with higher quality energy products that extend the plant’s operations.
Frontieras’ Coal-Plant Conversion allows an existing plant to be enhanced with key infrastructure to utilize hydrogen, natural gas and FASCarbon to massively reduce coal combustion, CO2, and other emissions. Built alongside an existing plant to process coal before it touches the plant, Frontieras’ Solid Carbon Fractionation embodies the definition of clean technology as it eliminates the waste from processing coal and extracts high value liquids and gases from solids while producing a purified solid carbon product known as FASCarbon™. Because the volatiles are already removed from the FASCarbon during the FASForm process, it is ideal for industrial uses (steel and cement production) where the carbon is used for heat. Additionally, FASCarbon has 90% less sulfur than Petcoke, which lowers the carbon footprint and reduces CO2 emissions (when the coal plant runs the FASCarbon through the existing processing plant). Frontieras’ FASForm produces several other high value gas and intermediate liquid fuels, including methane, naphtha, kerosene, jet fuel and diesel that provide the plants with additional revenue streams. The production of these products helps to address the current energy crisis by providing energy security for multiple sectors and a stronger more vibrant community where the plant is located.
Frontieras’ ability to produce additional yields and deliver FASCarbon addresses the current deficit of abundant, affordable, and available energy. Frontieras is poised to be a solid long-term investment for the plants and the implementation of FASForm helps the coal industry adapt to changing regulatory requirements and improve plant output with higher quality and more profitable products.
FASForm’s global impact is significant. Today, coal represents the basis for 80% of the globe’s energy production. In 2022, we witnessed the impact of Ukraine’s conflict with Russian all across Western Europe. Russia limiting the volume of natural gas has resulted in countries throughout Europe looking for ways to compensate for the energy loss through the reactivation of coal plants.
In other parts of the world, coal continues to gain support. According to the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), China began building 33 gigawatts of coal-based power generation plants in 2021. This represents more than half of the new plants being built across the globe. In India, roughly 70% of its electricity is from coal. To meet rapidly growing demand for increased energy output, India’s government recently ordered the reopening of more than 100 closed mines. This aggressive, positive stance towards coal is allowing both China and India to meet the energy needs of their country’s populations, positioning them for energy independence.
As a country, we have lost the vision to understand the important role that coal plays beyond simply creating electricity. The U.S. sits on a huge reserve of coal deposits (hundreds of years’ worth) and has the ability, with new technology, to exploit that repository of energy in an effective manner that meets the needs of its citizens and businesses and positions the United States for energy independence.
Watch the FASForm Virtual Tour
To learn more about Frontieras North America’s FASForm facility & zero-waste energy technology, please watch the following video for a virtual walkthrough of our first upcoming facility in Mason County, West Virginia.
Interested in investing in Frontieras?
If you’re an accredited investor and would like to get in contact with Frontieras, please fill out this form.