Sierra Energy
TypePrivate
IndustryWaste-to-Energy
Founded2004 (2004)
FounderMike G. Hart
Headquarters
Davis. California
,
United States
ProductsPathfinder
Number of employees
35
ParentSierra Railroad

Sierra Energy is a privately owned developer of waste-to-energy gasification technology FastOx. Sierra Energy is a division of Sierra Railroad. It is headquartered at the Sierra Energy Research Park in Davis, California and its first facility is located in Monterey, California.,[1][2]

History

FastOx gasification was developed by two Kaiser Steel engineers, Bruce Claflin and John Jasbinsek, that was originally designed to reduce pollution during steel production. When Kaiser closed their Fontana plant in 1983, workers tossed all demolition material into the blast furnace. Claflin and Jasbinsek realized that the furnace could take garbage as well. Claflin’s grandson, Chris Kasten, pitched the idea at the University of California, Davis' Graduate School of Management's 2003 Big Bang! Business Competition. The concept caught the eye of Mike G. Hart, a local railroad company CEO and a judge at the competition.[3][4]

After securing rights to the technology, Hart founded Sierra Energy, a division of Sierra Railroad, in 2004 to use this technology to create clean fuel for his fleet of locomotives.[5] In 2009, the technology was selected for construction and testing at the U.S. Army’s Renewable Energy Testing Center at McClellan Business Park, an independent testing facility funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).[4]

In 2013, the DoD, aided by grant funding from the California Energy Commission, entered into an agreement with Sierra Energy for the construction of Sierra's first commercial FastOx gasifier at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey, California. The system was the first waste-to-energy technology acquired by the Department of Defense. In 2015, Sierra was awarded a $100,000 federal grant from the Defense Logistics Agency to test production of hydrogen from municipal waste.,[3][1] In 2016, Sierra received an unconfirmed investment from SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners for which SteelRiver would receive a minority interest in Sierra Energy’s holding company, Sierra Railroad.[6] Sierra’s 20 metric ton per day gasifier at Fort Hunter Liggett was built in 2017 and will be testing multiple product outputs including electricity and renewable diesel.[7] In 2019, Sierra closed a $33 million Series A investment round led by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures.[8]

Technology: FastOx gasification

The Sierra Energy FastOx gasifier is a type of gasifier developed from a modified blast furnace, that the company claims is capable of converting nearly any type of waste into synthesis gas. Instead of using air as traditional blast furnaces do, gasification injects oxygen and steam instead, resulting in extremely high temperatures (2000 °C) that drive the chemical reaction to break down waste without producing ash or other contaminants that need to be landfilled. The system is modular.[8]

Scale up

Sierra's first facility was built in partnership with the U.S. Army and the California Energy Commission at Fort Hunter Liggett.[1] This waste gasification system began testing in January 2020 to convert biomass and municipal solid waste to electricity and diesel. The company is currently working on developing their flagship Pathfinder system which can handle up to 50-metric-tons of waste per day.[4][7]

Awards and recognition

  • 2011: Top 200 GoingGreen Global Company, AlwaysOn [9]
  • 2012 Globie Award - Most Innovative New Product, CleanTech Environmental [10]
  • 2012: Top 150 Companies in Bioenergy, Biofuels Digest [11]
  • 2012: Grant Award from Department of Defense, $3MM[12]
  • 2013: Grant Award from California Energy Commission, $5MM [13]
  • 2014: Defense Energy Technology Challenge award, Defense Energy Summit and Innovation Showcase [14]
  • 2014 – 40 Hottest Smaller Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy, Biofuels Digest [15]
  • 2015- Grant Award from Defense Logistics Agency, $100K [1]
  • 2016 – Environmental Recognition Award, City of Davis [16]
  • 2016 - Sacramento Region Innovation Award – First Place Sustainability, Sacramento Business Journal [17]
  • 2017 - Roddenberry Innovation award, Roddenberry Foundation[18]
  • 2018: 40 Hottest Emerging Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy [19]
  • 2018: Biofuels Digest Hottest 50 Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy [20]
  • 2020: Biofuels Digest Hottest 50 Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy [21]
  • 2020: Solar Impulse Foundation label [22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sierra Energy wins federal grant to test trash-to-hydrogen technology". bizjournals.com. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2023. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Sierra Energy refines garbage-to-fuel system". 16 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 Tullis, Paul (17 August 2013). "Trash into Gas, Efficiently? An Army Test May Tell". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 "Recycling: Turning Trash Into Energy". Comstock's magazine. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "The future of waste-to-energy technology". CNBC. 8 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "This Davis company has raised a major financing round for its clean-energy technology". bizjournals.com. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2023. (subscription required)
  7. 1 2 "U.S. Army is teaming up with a Davis startup to turn trash into energy". The Sacramento Bee. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Sierra Energy Closes $33 Million Series a Funding Led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures" (Press release).
  9. ↑ "Sierra Energy earns global recognition". 15 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Sierra Nevada Innovation Challenge Winners Announced! 5 Companies Take Home GLOBIE Awards as 2012's "Most Innovative New Product" Winners Coming from Non-Metro Areas" (Press release). 3 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "The top 150 companies in Bioenergy: The complete Digest rankings results : Biofuels Digest". 2 November 2012.
  12. ↑ Board Meeting December 2012 mrwmd.org
  13. ↑ "Gas-to-Liquids Plants: No Longer Exclusive to Larger Players". Forbes.
  14. ↑ "Defense Energy Technology Challenge Winner – Sierra Energy". 13 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Liquid Light, Virent, Rivertop Renewables, NexSteppe take top slots in the 40 Hottest Smaller Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy for 2014-15 : Biofuels Digest". 10 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Environmental Recognition Award Recipients | City of Davis, CA". www.cityofdavis.org. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Introducing the 2016 Sacramento Region Innovation Awards Finalists" (Press release).
  18. ↑ "Roddenberry Foundation sends Davis startup boldly into future with $150,000 prize". The Sacramento Bee. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "Gingko BioWorks, Impossible Foods, Calysta, Bolt Threads, Zymergen take top slots in the 40 Hottest Emerging Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy 2017-18 : Biofuels Digest". 17 October 2017.
  20. ↑ "50 Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy 2018 : Biofuels Digest". 5 March 2018.
  21. ↑ "50 Hottest Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy for 2020 : Biofuels Digest". 30 December 2019.
  22. ↑ Impulse, Solar. "Sierra Energy - Member of the World Alliance". solarimpulse.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
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