Cowboy Clean Fuels (CCF) – an advanced climate tech and energy transition company – announced the closing of about $13 million in Series B equity financing. This funding round will be pivotal in commercializing its groundbreaking technology for the simultaneous production of renewable natural gas (RNG) and permanent carbon dioxide sequestration, presenting a significant opportunity for investors in the growing renewable energy and carbon markets. Machan Investments, the family office of former energy executive Dan Dinges, led the Series B funding round.
Along with $7.8 million in Energy Matching Funds (EMF) from the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA), this funding will support the development of CCF’s first commercial project in Wyoming, the Triangle Unit Renewable Energy and Carbon Capture and Storage (TRECCS) Project.
Launched in 2020, CCF utilizes depleted Coal Bed Methane (CBM) wells and infrastructure in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to generate carbon-negative RNG from agricultural byproducts. And these byproducts are converted into CO2 and renewable methane through a biogenic process in deep and geologic coal formations. The commercialization of this technology – which is termed “Biomass with Carbon Removal and Storage, plus Renewable Natural Gas (BiCRS+RNG)” – represents a scalable, capital-efficient solution in the renewable energy sector.
With approval for a Notice to Inject from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), the TRECCS Project started commercial operations in early June. And since then, it injected 15,000 barrels of mixed feedstock for microbial conversion to methane and carbon dioxide. This marks a significant milestone as CCF advances towards full commercialization.
RNG is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets in the US, offering a cost-effective decarbonization pathway for various industrial processes. And CCF’s first project is expected to produce approximately 600 million cubic feet of pipeline-ready RNG annually at full scale, offering a lucrative opportunity for investors.
The carbon dioxide removal market is also rapidly gaining traction, with increasing recognition as crucial for achieving Net Zero goals. And CCF’s technology – which was developed by co-founder Dr. Michael Urynowicz and licensed from the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources – is ready for commercial deployment and can sequester approximately 180,000 metric tons of CO2e per year at scale.
CCF’s technology addresses the saturation in the conventional RNG market, which is dominated by anaerobic digesters at dairy farms by offering a more scalable, cost-effective, and faster-to-deploy solution. And the company’s technology not only generates renewable energy but also permanently sequesters carbon dioxide through a physical adsorption process that remains stable under naturally occurring hydrostatic pressure, ensuring long-term carbon removal.
The approximately $20 million in capital raised positions CCF to reach full scale by the end of 2025, which potentially makes it one of the largest global producers of both RNG and CDR credits. And the TRECCS Project showcases innovative technology developed in Wyoming, utilizing existing assets and positioning the state as a leader in renewable natural gas and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
Scaling CCF’s technology throughout the Powder River Basin could make Wyoming the largest producing state for RNG and sequestered carbon dioxide, benefiting the state’s energy and agricultural industries, economy, and citizens.
Cowboy Clean Fuels was advised in the transaction by Syren Capital.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are incredibly pleased to have secured investment from some of the smartest and most experienced energy entrepreneurs, operators, and investors in the country. This capital, along with the WEA matching funds, will enable us to fully commercialize the BiCRS+RNG process and realize the technology vision behind it, which is nearly twenty years in the making.”
– Ryan Waddington, CEO of CCF
“Cowboy’s technology is coming to market at a critical juncture in both RNG and CDR markets. Demand for RNG is growing beyond the traditional transportation fuel markets, however traditional RNG supply volumes are constrained and require higher end buyer prices to Cowboy. Similarly, demand for high quality, long duration carbon removal is exploding, but at high costs – emerging solutions like DAC are not yet ready to deliver. The investor community recognized that Cowboy is ready to carve out a leadership position in both sectors by delivering both RNG and CDR attributes and credits to market in the near term – and with greater scale than the competitive landscape.”
– Susan Vick Dinges, Syren Capital
“We have been impressed with the company’s continued progress since our initial investment in 2022 in all areas of regulatory, compliance, operations, commercial and refining development costs to add value to offtake buyers. Machan is excited to lead this financing and bullishly support Cowboy’s commercialization and scale up.”
– Dan Dinges, Chairman of Machan Investments
“I am looking forward to joining the Cowboy Board, and guiding the management team as they work to achieve the next technology, commercial and market milestones for the company. Cowboy’s leadership has done an exceptional job positioning the company for success on every dimension – commercially, they are unparalleled in scale to deliver RNG and sequester carbon in the growing voluntary markets.”
– David Kailbourne, CEO of REV LNG, LLC and Renewable Operations Company, LLC
