GreatPoint Energy

GreatPoint Energy was founded in 2005 by serial entrepreneur Andrew Perlman, along with Avi Goldberg and Aaron Mandell, to commercialize a process for converting carbon-rich materials into natural gas. Perlman, a college dropout with a track record of launching successful tech startups, turned his long-held passion for environmental solutions towards the energy sector, aiming to tackle the emissions problem associated with coal. The company revived and built upon catalytic gasification technology originally developed in the 1970s and 80s.

The firm's core business revolves around its proprietary Bluegas™ technology, a catalytic hydromethanation process that converts feedstocks like coal, petroleum coke, and biomass directly into pipeline-quality substitute natural gas (SNG). This single-step process was designed to operate at lower temperatures than conventional gasification, enhancing thermal efficiency and reducing costs. A key feature is the near-total capture of pollutants and CO2, which can be sequestered or sold for use in enhanced oil recovery, offering a superior environmental footprint with significantly lower water usage compared to competing technologies. The business model focused on building, owning, and operating large-scale production facilities near low-cost feedstock sources and natural gas pipelines. The resulting SNG is interchangeable with drilled natural gas for all applications, including power generation and heating.

GreatPoint Energy attracted substantial backing from prominent venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures, alongside strategic corporate investors such as Dow Chemical, Peabody Energy, and Suncor. The company raised over $150 million in its initial years, facilitating the development of pilot and demonstration plants. A landmark moment occurred in 2012 when GreatPoint announced a $1.25 billion deal with China's Wanxiang Holdings to construct a massive coal-to-gas facility in Xinjiang, which was at the time the largest US venture capital deal of the year. However, the ambitious China project ultimately failed to secure necessary government support and did not proceed. The company, which had demonstrated its technology at various pilot facilities, ultimately ceased operations around 2019.

Keywords: coal-to-gas, catalytic hydromethanation, Bluegas, substitute natural gas, carbon capture, clean coal, gasification, energy technology, venture capital, Andrew Perlman