Stellar3 is a company that designs and builds patented waste transformation plants, using feedstocks that include sorted municipal solid waste, mixed plastic waste and end-of-life tires as a result producing syngas, low carbon liquid fuels, circular pyrolytic oil, recycled carbon-black and electricity. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Stellar3 co-founder and CEO Dan Nienhauser to learn more about the company.
Dan Nienhauser’s Background
For two decades, Dan Nienhauser was a serial entrepreneur and corporate intrapreneur working around the world. And Nienhauser said:
“In 2002, I was hired at Columbia University as the inaugural business officer for the Earth Institute (‘EI’). This was my first exposure to global sustainability issues and challenges. Several Centers and Institutes were combined to create a new super Institute (the first institute outside of all schools at the University, reporting directly to the President), along with several new Centers focused on the interaction between our planet and humans.”
“During that time, we hired and brought down Jeffrey Sachs and his Harvard University team to lead EI and serve as the social science glue within Columbia’s physical science expertise. Over the course of a couple of years, we built a $100 million research and education institute (with multiple new Master’s programs and one new Ph.D. program), hired Columbia’s first agronomist, and opened Columbia’s first active overseas offices in Africa and Southeast Asia. Science and the urgency for us ‘as a world’ to come together around sustainability issues so inspired me that I have remained interested in sustainability and committed to building a better world.”
Formation of Stellar3
How did the idea for Stellar3 come together? Nienhauser shared:
“During the past decade, I’ve worked with companies and concepts related to waste transformation and alternative energy breakthroughs. Due to economic inefficiencies or scientific limitations, most waste transformation technologies have been close, but not plausible. It wasn’t until 3 to 4 years ago… Around this time, a few companies began reducing waste with heat (and making money from it) due to improvements in efficiency.”
“I was asked to provide strategic consulting for waste technology applications by my old friend George Weiss, who is co-founder and Executive Chairman of Stellar3. In addition to his role as Chairman of a European battery company at the time, George was working with a couple of South African scientists on waste challenges and opportunities. In September 2021, Stellar3 was born from our research and discoveries to attack the waste problem with thermochemical conversion applications.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Nienhauser’s favorite memory working for Stellar3 so far? Nienhauser reflected:
“There is still a long way to go! There has been a lot of planning, testing, and development, and we are on the cusp of breaking through, but there is much more to do. Unfortunately, I cannot yet qualify these memories as favorites. In March, the first commercial-sized plant in Africa will begin operating, transforming mixed plastics into blend-ready liquid fuels. This will be the beginning of a string of Stellar3 launch memories…”
Challenges Faced
What are some of the challenges you face in building the company and has the current macroeconomic climate had any effect on the company? Nienhauser acknowledged:
“Financing new technology and reducing perceived risk are by far our biggest hurdles. Due to recent macroeconomic conditions, emerging companies in need of growth capital have stalled in many instances.”
“In spite of this, Stellar3 has been refining the technology, honing our message, and building trust with financing partners who have the capacity and appetite for our technology solutions for the past year. Capital is often a significant barrier for companies to succeed. To avoid getting trapped in a situation where it is desperate for capital, Stellar3 worked to build the financial foundation before embarking on a rapid growth phase.”
Core Products
(Mixed Plastics to Liquid Fuels 3D Model – construction near completion)
What are Stellar3’s core products and features? Nienhauser explained:
“With Stellar3, you can turn waste liabilities into energy assets by converting a variety of mixed waste feedstocks into energy products.”
“In an oxygen-free environment, we use heat to convert mixed plastics, end-of-life tires, or even general municipal solid waste into synthetic gasses (‘syngas’). Oxygen-free environments prevent burning, are more efficient, and have a better mass-energy balance than incineration, despite the fact that both processes use heat.”
“By creating syngas from waste products, one can generate new products that can replace virgin raw materials or products made from them. Syngas may be used to 1) replace natural gas; 2) burnt to generate electricity; 3) condensed into pyrolytic oil for making plastics, chemicals, or other petroleum products; or 4) distilled into blend-ready diesel and naphtha fuels.”
“The thermochemical conversion technology we offer is proven, innovative, flexible, and modular. Whether mixed or singular, the applications transform a wide range of feedstocks and deliver superior results. Due to the smaller footprint of our plants, some of which are as small as 400m2, we can implement the transformation right where the waste is – at landfills, within communities, or wherever feedstock is readily available. Closed-loop Stellar3 systems emit almost no pollutants and are highly efficient. Heat and power are produced using non-condensable gases, which improves plant efficiency, and almost no external power is required once the system is in operation.”
“We apply innovation to both the preparation of mixed feedstock for transformation, as well as the cleaning and management of gases after transformation. In one of our unique preparation modules, chlorine is extracted from mixed plastics that include PVC plastics (less than 2% of PVC is processed or recycled today). As a result, the mixed plastic liquid stream is converted into syngas for electricity and chlorine is condensed into hydrochloric acid, and sold as a high-value output. With our unparalleled post-pyrolysis syngas management, cleanup, and hydrogenation, we satisfy the most stringent offtake requirements of our customers. The pollutants in the feedstock are oxidized in the gas phase, reducing them to a level below all global emission standards of 10-16 parts per million.”
(Mixed Plastics – including PVC – to Electricity 3D Model – construction in progress)
Evolution Of Stellar3’s Technology
How has Stellar3’s technology evolved since launching? Nienhauser noted:
“Component complexity, pre-transformation feedstock preparation modules, post-transformation gas management strategies, and efficiency maximization efforts have evolved significantly during the development of the technology the past two years. As a result, our plant customers and global partners will see a faster return on investment thanks to low operating costs and high value of our outputs.”
“Stellar3 is currently preparing to commercially launch its thermochemical conversion technology. Our plant efficiencies will be continuously improved, new high-value outputs will be introduced, and we will soon introduce multi-layer machine learning (“ML”) real-time predictive analysis. Multi-layer ML will be implemented using cameras for spectral identification (visual and infrared), sensors, scientific instrumentation, temperature, pressure, chemical monitoring, and other data available and identified. Stellar3 will be able to leverage Neural Networks (AI) currently available to it and develop proprietary Machine Learning (‘ML’) models.”
Funding/Revenue
After asking Nienhauser about the company’s funding/revenue information, he revealed:
“There are two main channels through which Stellar3 generates revenues. In addition to owning and operating mixed plastic and end-of-life tire transformation facilities, Stellar3 designs and builds waste transforming facilities for global customers.”
“In general, liquid fuel sales to wholesale fuel distributors produce a strong return on capital investment (for both Stellar3 and our plant customers). Plant sales to customers typically range from $14 million to over $100 million, depending on the size and scope of a plant.”
“In order to accelerate Stellar3’s own-operate site development and global plant production for customers, the company is currently in the process of closing a $120 million raise.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is Stellar3 pursuing? Nienhauser assessed:
“Global waste-to-energy market revenue forecast in 2027 is $54.8 billion (Grand View Research, downloaded July 13, 2022).”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Stellar3 from its competition? Nienhauser affirmed:
“From feedstock preparation to syngas management, our plants and technology solutions cover the entire transformation process.”
“To ensure output quality and volume, we test feedstock during the design phase in our in-house laboratory. Generally, thermal solution providers focus on the middle ‘heat’ modules, ignoring feedstock preparation and gas cleanup and management. Our plants are high-efficiency, low-cost, can receive mixed feedstocks, and have a smaller footprint, so that they can be positioned where the waste is (we create waste where we live, and we consume energy where we live). Finally, Stellar3 is constantly working on innovative applications as well as improving modules.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of Stellar3’s future company goals? Nienhauser pointed out:
“Stellar3 plans to build 250 plants over the next ten years and expand in the Philippines to transform 500 tons of plastic per day (currently, 1,000 tons of plastic end up in our seas and oceans in the Philippines; our goal is to transform 50% of those by 2030).”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics to discuss? Nienhauser concluded:
“It is time for us to act collectively. Investing in waste mitigation, transformation, and research is essential. By reimagining waste as a resource of unrealized energy and circular materials, we can change our perceptions.”
