NRG Focus - October 2011 Issue

OCTOBER 2011

™

TECHNOLOGY | REVIEW | UPDATE

A GLOBAL OUTLOOK

SPOTLIGHT

Westinghouse Co-location Opportunity

Technology Commercialization Utashinai Visit

Flex Ethanol Testing

Contents Visit to Utashinai, Japan_______ 3 Flex Ethanol Testing____________ 4

For our 4th edition of NRG Focus we will continue to bring clarity to experiences and activities that help optimize our Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology. In this issue, we will provide

Spotlight On

updates on our Westinghouse Plasma

Co-location Opportunity_____ 5-9

Center and its ability to produce clean syngas – an essential building block for

•

Choosing Westinghouse Plasma Center________ 6

•

Commercial Demonstration Facility______________ 7

•

Technology Commercialization___________________ 8

milestones, project updates and the recent

•

Real-time Syngas Production______________________ 9

visit to the Utashinai facility in Japan. It has

energy and liquid fuel applications. As well, we will touch on significant testing

been a busy quarter and we are pleased to

Project Updates____________10-11

share some of these activities through this edition. Please read on and we hope you

•

Dufferin________________________________________________ 10

enjoy this latest edition of NRG Focus.

•

Air Products___________________________________________ 10

From the team at Alter NRG

•

Phoenix Energy______________________________________ 11

Cover Photo: Exterior of Alter NRG’s state-of-the-art Facility in Madison, PA, USA

Content & Design: Alter NRG Corp. - Corporate Development Team Past Issues: www.alternrg.com/investor_relations/presentations/publications Alter NRG Corp. is a registered trademark. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. The information contained herein cannot be reproduced in any format without legal permission from Alter NRG Corp., and is subject to change without notice. Copyright © 2011. All rights reserved.

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ISSUE | OCTOBER 2011

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Visit to Utashinai Facility On September 12, 2011, Ken Willis of Alter NRG hosted eight customers at the Eco-Valley Facility in Utashinai, Japan. Attendees visited the facility to witness the Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology operating commercially firsthand.

Six delegates from Dufferin County, Ontario attended including: ●● Mayor

of Melancthon

●● Mayor

of Amaranth

●● Deputy

Mayor of East Garafraxa

●● Director

of Public Works, Dufferin

County ●● CDC

Public Member

Eco-Valley Facility

Visitors to Eco-Valley

The delegates from Dufferin County, Ontario wanted to visit the Eco-Valley facility to see the Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology operating in a commercial setting. Alter NRG’s technology was selected as the keystone technology for an energy from waste facility at the Dufferin Eco-Energy Park. The environmental screening process for the energy from waste Utashinai

facility has commenced and is well underway.

Also, Alter NRG’s plasma gasification representative in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Petr Brenek of BKB Metal, hosted a client from the Czech Republic.

Alter NRG hosts customers and clients from all over the world at the Utashinai facility typically once per year. If you are interested in visiting the site, please contact Alter NRG for more information.

JAPAN

www.AlterNRG.com

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ALTER NRG

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Westinghouse Plasma Ethanol Testing Success Flex Ethanol Australia is developing a project in Melbourne, Australia, where it plans on converting MSW, tires and sewage sludge into more than 200 million liters of ethanol a year

Taking the necessary steps to bring the Flex Ethanol Australia Project to life includes conducting a comprehensive test at the Westinghouse Plasma Center & Coskata’s colocated semi-commercial facility to test the suitability of Australian-specific household waste for ethanol production. Testing was recently conducted at the Westinghouse Plasma Center with successful results.

The results of the test will be used by the Flex Ethanol Australia project engineering team to understand the equipment needed for the commercial project, refine the facility design and operation.

About Flex Ethanol Australia ●● GM Holden, Caltex and Phoenix Energy (Alter NRG technology licensee in Australia)

partnering on project ●● Flex Ethanol Australia is a new company that has been formed to prepare for commercial

production of ethanol from household waste for use in Australian cars. ●● The facility will ultimately be capable of turning up to one million tonnes of household

rubbish and building waste into more than 200 million liters of ethanol each year

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●● One of Flex Ethanol Australia’s first steps in project development is a test at the

Westinghouse Plasma Center to determine the suitability of Australian household waste for ethanol production.

Key Stakeholders

The testing data has been essential to the project engineering team as we refine the commercial plant design, to gain operational efficiencies and reduce the overall capital of our 200 million liter per year waste-to-ethanol facility.

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ISSUE | OCTOBER 2011

-Phoenix Energy (Australia)

SPOTLIGHT

A World Class Co-Location Opportunity

Westinghouse Plasma Corporation is currently running a strategic process to co-locate one or more syngas recipient technologies at the Westinghouse Plasma Center in Madison, Pennsylvania, USA We are seeking a technology that would utilize the syngas we generate on-site using the Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology to feed a complementary recipient technology, such as:

Electricity generation ●● Gas Turbines ●● Steam

Turbines

●● Engines ●● Fuel

Cells

●● Micro

Turbines

Synthetic fuels ●● Ethanol ●● Hydrogen ●● Methanol ●● Diesel

If you are interested in having your technology located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center, please contact Bruce Leonard, Manager Corporate Development at Alter NRG for more details.

Bruce Leonard

Manager, Corporate Development

Alter NRG Corp., 215, 4000 – 4th Street SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 2W3 Phone: 403.214.4211, Fax: 403.806.3721 Email: bleonard@alternrg.ca

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Commercial Demonstration Facility Process Flow Diagram Over 125 tests have been conducted at the Westinghouse Plasma Commercial Demonstration Facility producing clean syngas

Syngas Cleanup • Clean Syngas • Ability to tailor the syngas composition to the specification of the recipient technology

Plasma Gasifier • Capable of processing multiple feedstocks in blended or pure form

The Westinghouse Plasma Center’s operations validate our technical performance projections as well as the plasma gasification island and syngas clean up capability. This significantly reduces risks associated with the full scale commercialization of projects.

Feedstocks Flexibility More than 100 distinct types of feedstock have been tested at the Westinghouse Plasma Commercial Demonstration Facility including: ●● Refuse Derived Fuel

●● Oily Sludge

●● Black Liquor

●● Simulated MSW

●● Excavated Landfill Material

●● Tire Derived Fuel

●● Hazardous wastes and simulated

●● Iron Borings

●● MSW Fly Ash

●● Iron Oxide

●● Coal

●● Ferro-Nickel

●● Iron Bearing Pellets

●● Biomass

●● High Quartz Iron Ore

hazardous wastes

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(ELM) - PCB disposal

ISSUE | OCTOBER 2011

Note: Feedstocks can also be blended and mixed for testing at the Pilot Plant.

Feedstocks listed as waste must be chemically and physically simulated.

Why choose the Westinghouse Plasma Center?

The Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology has processed over 100 different feedstocks in blended or pure form. The syngas composition can be tailored to meet the specifications of the downstream application The Westinghouse Plasma Center is the only facility in North America capable of creating a clean syngas from a variety of feedstocks (municipal solid waste, biomass, e-waste, medical waste, sludges etc.) that can be tailored to meet your technology’s specifications. Several benefits of co-locating a

Location Adjacent to the Westinghouse Plasma Corp.’s Pilot Plant in Madison, Pennsylvania

technology at the Westinghouse Plasma Center exist, including: 1. Transition a technology from lab scale to a commercial demonstration 2. Perform specific testing to optimize the design and operation of current or future products or facilities 3. Gain access to world class exposure and business development opportunities

Advantages ●●

The syngas can be stored onsite and consumed as needed ●●

●● Investors, project developers, Fortune 500 clients and

politicians visit the Westinghouse Plasma Center to see the technology in action ●● Access to Westinghouse Plasma Corp.’s multi-billion

dollar sales pipeline

Clean syngas generated on demand.

Capable of generating clean, cool, compressed syngas from a wide variety of feedstocks

●●

Syngas analysis capabilities onsite

●●

1 hour drive from Pittsburgh International Airport

Site Available As early as Q1 2012

The Westinghouse Plasma Center

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Technology Commercialization Second Generation Cellulosic Ethanol Technology at the Westinghouse Plasma Center The semi-commercial facility has taken Coskata’s technology from the laboratory to the world stage

Coskata’s cellulosic ethanol semi-commercial facility is located adjacent to the Westinghouse Plasma Center where the syngas can either be piped directly into the bio-reactor to create ethanol or stored for later use. Coskata’s microorganisms convert the Westinghouse Plasma made syngas into ethanol by consuming the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) in the gas stream.

Westinghouse Plasma has conducted 35 tests since Coskata has been on-site. With each test, Coskata’s technology moved one step closer to becoming commercial.

Initially, the technology was a ‘start-up’ technology that was proven in a laboratory.

The semi-commercial facility has validated to investors and government agencies that the technology is proven and as a result Coskata is now focusing on commercial facilities.

“

What started as a concept is now a commercial reality:

The Westinghouse Plasma Center has allowed Coskata to successfully scale our cellulosic ethanol technology from a laboratory setting to a commercial demonstration.

The Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology was able to create syngas from a variety of feedstocks that met our specifications.

Furthermore, the world wide exposure that our ethanol technology has received while being co-located at at the Westinghouse Plasma Center has provided Coskata with some very promising commercial opportunities that are now under development.

- James Fawley, VP, Strategic Business Development

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ISSUE | OCTOBER 2011

The

Process

Real-time Syngas Production Supports the Development of an Energy from Waste facility in the UK The Tees Valley commercial facility will be capable of processing 950 tonnes per day of non-recyclable waste using the Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology. The facility is planning on producing 49MW of electricity through a combined cycle process – the first of its kind Energy from Waste plant in the world.

Conducting tests at the Westinghouse Plasma Commercial Demonstration facility has been imperative to the successful engineering and development of the Tees Valley Project.

Using the similar calorific value and composition of waste that will be processed at the commercial facility, testing was conducted at the Westinghouse Plasma Commercial Demonstration Facility where the resultant syngas was captured for testing. The testing results are used to determine: ●● Particulate characteristics of the syngas which is taken into account for equipment

design and selection of the commercial facility ●● Slag composition and leaching tests are used for the environmental permitting of

The Westinghouse Plasma Commercial Demonstration Facility has been instrumental in helping Air Products develop their Energy from Waste combined cycle facility in Tees Valley, UK

the facility

The continuous feedback loop between testing at the Westinghouse Plasma Center and the project developer results in an optimized design:

Westinghouse Plasma Center Demonstration Facility, Madison, Pennsylvania

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Project Updates Dufferin Project: Environmental Screening Process Navitus Plasma Inc. (Navitus) is moving

Air Products secures planning permission for the Tees Valley Renewable Energy Facility

forward on its Environmental Screening

Air Products has secured planning

Process for the Dufferin County energy from

permission from Stockton on Tees Borough

waste facility that will utilize the

Council for its Tees Valley Renewable

commercially proven Westinghouse Plasma

Energy Facility. The facility is the first of a

Liaison and discussions with agencies, the public and Aboriginal communities will be an integral part of the Screening Process and to make sure that they are provided with the necessary assurances that the project is viable and safe to the environment

Gasification technology.

The Environmental Screening Process assesses the potential environmental effects of the Project during construction, operation and decommissioning, as defined in the

Ontario Environmental Assessment Act. Opportunities to discuss the Project will be provided throughout the Environmental Screening process and will be advertised in local newspapers, on this website and by direct mail-out. To communicate your questions or comments or to be added to our Project distribution list please visit www.navitusplasma.com. The first public consultation and information session is expected to be held in Q4 of 2011.

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the UK over the next few years.

Air Products, along with our technology partner, Alter NRG, see Tees Valley as the first of a number of advanced gasification facilities that we wish to develop in the UK. - Ian Williamson, European Hydrogen and Bioenergy Director, Air Products

The UK is seeking more sustainable ways to manage and dispose of its waste, and is looking to diversify its sources of electricity generation: our technology is able to deliver on both counts commented Ian, “In the longer-term, our technology can also produce renewable hydrogen and is being considered for a

The overall results of the Environmental Screening

demonstration of Waste2Tricity’s alkaline fuel cell

Process will be documented in an Environmental

technology to generate electricity. So our renewable

Screening Report which will be released for public

energy facility could also play a part in the further

review. It is anticipated the Report will be released in

development of the hydrogen economy, an area in

Q1 or early in Q2 of 2012. Construction on the facility

which Air Products already has

is targeted to start in the fall of 2012.

considerable experience.”

Application for the necessary air and water certificates will be made simultaneously and parallel to the Environmental Screening Process.

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number of energy from waste plants that Air Products will be looking to develop in

ISSUE | OCTOBER 2011

Phoenix Energy (formally Moltoni Energy) advances Australia’s first major thermal energy from waste facility in Kwinana In addition to the Flex Ethanol Australia project, Phoenix Energy, Alter NRG’s exclusive licensee in Australia, is currently developing a $300-$400 million energy from waste plant in Kwinana, Australia. The facility has completed the first stage of its engineering assessment and is now being commercially assessed.

The facility will incorporate two technologies: the main plant will use a Martin Grate high-temperature mass combustion unit while the second much smaller plant will use the Westinghouse Plasma gasification technology. The Martin Grate unit will process municipal solid waste and some commercial and industrial waste while the Westinghouse Plasma gasification plant will process industrial waste generated from within the Kwinana industrial area. The syngas generated from the plasma gasification process will be used in the

“

Martin Grate plant to augment firing conditions.

High-temperature steam and/or electricity for the local grid could be produced from the Martin Grate unit while one of the by-products of the plasma gasification process would include slag suitable for paving and other applications.

As this will be the first facility of this type in Australia, the facility will also create a knowledge base among local contractors and engineering firms that will become sought after by other states as they begin to adopt a proven solution that has been deployed around the world for years.

- Peter Dyson, Managing Director,

Phoenix Energy

If the Kwinana energy from waste project proves to be commercially and technically viable, Phoenix Energy

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will then consult with local communities and undertake a detailed facility design.

Artist Rendition of Phoenix Energy’s Proposed Facility

Assuming the project continues to be viable through the various gateways, we would expect commissioning to occur in 2014 or early 2015.

- Peter Dyson, Managing Director, Phoenix Energy.

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Alter NRG provides clean energy solutions that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

Westinghouse Plasma Corp.

The industry leading plasma gasification technology that provides clean and renewable energy solutions by converting all types of waste and biomass into high value energy - like electricity, ethanol or syngas. With plasma systems in operation for 20 years and converting waste into energy since 2002, the technology is commercially proven and produces lower emissions than other conventional energy technologies.

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