Oberon Fuels obtains a grant from the State of California for production of renewable dimethyl ether

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Type of post: NEWS.

Oberon Fuels is a California-based advanced biofuels producer which monetizes biogas and industrial waste streams by converting them into higher valued commodities. Using its proprietary small-scale process, Oberon makes rDME (renewable dimethyl ether) from methane, carbon dioxide and/or methanol. In 2013, Oberon Fuels’ pilot plant in Brawley, California, produced the first fuel-grade DME in North America, which has been used by Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and Ford Motor Company for vehicle demonstrations around the world.

The firm has been officially awarded a grant for 2.9 M$ from the California Energy Commission (CEC) for a first-of-its-kind, multi-phase project to produce rDME at relevant scale in the USA. This project unlocks the near- and medium-term decarbonization benefits of rDME, which means a key step in the development of a renewable hydrogen (rH2) pathway in California.
Press release: “Oberon Fuels Secures $2.9 Million Grant from State of California for First-Ever Production of Renewable Dimethyl Ether (rDME) in United States”, 13/6/2019.

Figure 1. Oberon Fuels concept for DME production (taken from the company website)

Oberon will upgrade its existing DME pilot facility to demonstration scale and facilitate the first production of rDME in the USA. It expects the production capacity to double compared to current stable production volumes, as well as to be able to use a new by-product from the paper industry to produce the fuel. In addition to scaling up the plant and testing new feedstocks, the project will also test modified diesel trucks fueled by rDME in the Imperial Valley and other Southern California locations. Oberon will work with commercial partners to assess the technical feasibility and economics of converting renewable methanol, a by-product of the pulping process, into rDME and developing an associated fueling infrastructure.

While most of the focus on DME has been on its application as a diesel fuel replacement, it can also serve as both a cost-effective, easy-to-transport hydrogen carrier and as a blending agent with propane to reduce propane’s carbon intensity (when it is made from renewable feedstocks). Since it is an efficient hydrogen carrier, rDME can be transported to a hydrogen fueling station and then converted to rH2 to fuel zero-emission vehicles.

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