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GreatPoint Energy Case Study

About GreatPoint Energy

  • GreatPoint Energy develops, owns and operates large-scale industrial facilities to convert coal into natural gas using the company’s proprietary bluegas™ technology
  • bluegas™ uses catalytic hydromethanation, a process by which carbon-rich feedstocks are converted through a combination of catalytic reactions into a methane-rich gas stream
  • GreatPoint Energy is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Its existing investors include Advanced Technology Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufiled & Byers, Khoshla Ventures, Citi Capital Advisors, AES Corp, Dow Chemical, Peabody Energy and Suncor Energy
  • GreatPoint Energy is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy in Asia and other developing economies

Overview and Challenges

  • Founded in 2004, GreatPoint Energy has proven the viability of its bluegas™ technology through thousands of hours of online operation at the company’s bench, pilot and demonstration facilities
  • GreatPoint Energy was looking for a strategic partner with access to the financial and commodity resources required for the development of large-scale coal gasification facilities in Asia
  • It was important for GreatPoint Energy to retain the ability to continue to pursue project development opportunities in non-Asia geographies

Our Advice and Execution

  • Greentech advised GreatPoint Energy on its $1.25 billion investment from China Wanxiang Holding Co., Ltd., a major China based industrial conglomerate.  The partnership included an investment commitment of over $420 million and a project equity and credit support partnership commitment of $830 million from Wanxiang Holding to GreatPoint Energy
  • In addition to identifying Wanxiang, Greentech negotiated a highly customized investment structure to meet the goals of GreatPoint Energy’s existing equity investors, while providing Wanxiang with a pathway to acquiring a controlling interest in the company
  • In conjunction with the investment, Wanxiang and GreatPoint Energy have formed a Joint Venture for the development of bluegas™ facilities in Asia and will build the first large-scale plant in China to convert coal into natural gas
  • The transaction provides Wanxiang with an environmentally friendly technology for leveraging significant coal reserves in the Xinjiang province while creating a platform that will drive value creation for existing equity