We have a $7 billion opportunity to fundamentally solve chronic emissions problems that have plagued engines used to gather, lift and transport natural gas along pipelines for over 30 years. National Laboratory certification of our unique patented technology solution will usher in a new combustion process with wide applicability to other vertical stationary and mobile engine market segments.
Radical Combustion Technologies (RCT) is a clean-tech technology company developing retrofit kits to improve operating performance of large-bore, slow-speed internal combustion engines used for natural gas gathering and lift applications in the intrastate natural gas market and transmission along interstatenatural gas pipelines.
Large Legacy engines do the heavy work in 1,400 compression stations along the 300,000 miles of interstate pipelines to move (“compress”) natural gas throughout North America. These aging engines are challenged to meet ever-tighter EPA and state emissions regulations. RCTClean™, RCT’s field-installable, retrofit-kit solution will enable these engines to operate more efficiently and be fully emissions compliant, thereby extending their service life for decades.
The RCTClean™ Solution
RCTClean technology reduces pollutant emissions such as NOx, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and greenhouse gases (methane, carbon dioxide, etc.); enables engines to run on varying natural gas chemical composition mixtures, and improves combustion stability thereby reducing fuel costs while lowering operating and maintenance costs.
The intrastate natural gas gathering, lift and transmission market presents an immediately accessible opportunity. These smaller field engines (less than 800 HP) are grandfathered regarding emissions compliance BUT are often subject to state emissions recertification regulatons when moved, which they can’t meet without emissions reduction upgrades. RCTClean technology enables these engines to meet emissions compliance rules. The total available intrastate natural gas market for RCTClean technology is over $2 billion. This intrastate field engine need extends to non-emissions compliant engines, both installed and mothballed.
The interstate Legacy Engine market is concentrated; fewer than 25 companies operate 4,000 two-stroke engines cumulatively generating 10 million HP. The total available interstate natural gas transmission market for RCTClean is over $5 billion.
Our unique, patented RCTClean engine retrofit technology technology is ready for commercial validation and final product certification, which will transform the 15 million HP, $7 billion gathering, lift and compression markets.
For comparison purposes, non-compliant intrastate Field Engines are either upgraded at a cost of $280 per HP or replaced with 4-stroke, higher-speed engines at a cost over $750 per HP.
Curently, emissions reduction for non-compliant Legacy Engines used in interstate natural gas pipelies must choose between two options:
All of these approaches have been modestly successful but frequently degrade the operating performance of the engines and are very costly to maintain.
RCT’s team of engine and natural gas pipeline experts recognized that these ‘Band-Aid’ solutions are expensive, incremental improvements in existing technologies (i.e. after-treatment, fuel injection, air handling, ignition timing, turbo charging, etc) all added outside the combustion chamber.
The RCTClean technology solution goes straight to the heart of the combustion chamber – inside the cylinder – and fundamentally changes the combustion process itself. This results in a more even burn, greater stability, lower emissions, better fuel efficiency and added fuel variance tolerance needed when dealing with higher energy gases of varying chemical composition common in fracked fields.
Patented RCTClean technology induces a fundamental change in combustion, called Enhanced Radical Ignition (ERI), to take place where ignition occurs by chemical decomposition as opposed to thermal initiation of combustion.
Here are the key features of ERI ignition:
A fully-controlled, multi-point, chemical-decomposition-induced ignition significantly reduces the nitrogen oxide-producing flame front associated with spark ignition. Testing (by our Technology Partner, Sonex Research, in closely-related engine ignition technology over several years) has shown ERI to be dramatically more efficient and cleaner burning than either traditional “spark ignition” or “compression ignition”, thermal-ignition processes.
RCTClean’s ERI enables engines to meet emissions requirements at significant cost savings compared to other emissions-reduction solutions.
The RCTClean engine upgrade kit is composed of three complementary technologies: Radical Chemicals Generator (RCG), Regenerative Heat-Retaining Element (RHRE) insert, and Advanced direct-injection Fuel Mixing (AFM).
ERI is achieved by combining 3 technologies: 1. Convert a Pre-Combustion Chamber (PCC) into a Radical Chemicals Generator (RCG) enabling precise timing control for injecting radical chemicals into the main combustion chamber. 2. While the RHRE insert raises main combustion chamber temperature to facilitate optimum ERI conditions and energy conservation from one cycle to the next cycle. 3. Finally, AFM improves fuel mixing to promote sustained homogeneous ERI throughout the entire combustion chamber at precisely the same time.
RCTClean technology is a multi-layered solution that offers 7 major benefits:
RCTClean provides fundamental solutions to the engine emissions problems that have plagued the natural gas transmission industry for decades. The owners and operators of Field engines and Legacy engines will see fast economic returns by applying this technology to both operating and mothballed engines.
From obtaining patents to receiving grants, to lining up field-test collaborators, to getting national-level gas machinery university labs on board, to developing strategic relationships with key industry owner/operators, OEMs and industry associations, RCT has made tremendous progress developing its industry-altering retrofit kits – and all this momentum is building toward even bigger and better things to come. Here’s a quick rundown of the most exciting developments at RCT so far:
Intellectual Property
RCT’s technology partner, Sonex, is a research laboratory for novel in-cylinderconcepts in ICEs. The Sonex technology is agnostic to fuel (liquid and gaseous) with applicability to other stationary and mobile market applications. Sonex has received an equity interest in RCTNG, a majority-owned subsidiary of RCT, as part consideration for the license to commercialize the Technology. In January 2014, Sonex filed two U.S. patent applications covering RHRE and the RCG. Both patents issued in February 2017 which builds upon a solid IP portfolio including 17 other previously issued Sonex patents.
Gas Transmission Industry Support…”The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval”
Recently RCT received a request from the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) to submit a project for funding consideration for their 2018 research budget. In the gas-compression industry, PRCI is an important player because their projects are based on what the industry views as essential technologies that when fully developed will benefit the industry. Virtually all interstate gas companies participate in PRCI and allocate dollars for the projects under consideration based upon each company’s total pipeline miles. We have three of the leading Legacy owner/operators as co-sponsors for our proposed project. These three co-sponsors cumulatively own over 15 million horsepower in compression. RCT is officially under consideration for a $200,000 award. We will be notified of the exact amount and terms of the grant in September 2017 with funds distribution beginning as soon as the 4th quarter 2017.
Investment
In September 2014, RCT was awarded a $2 million grant by Commonwealth of Virginia’s Tobacco Indemnification Commission. Once RCT raises the matching funds to activate this minimally-dilutive grant, this notable investment will be revisited as it will support further product development and testing which leverages the equity investment.
Collaborations
Several customers in both the Legacy and Field engine markets have indicated a willingness to field test RCTClean after successful laboratory tests. Arrangements with players are in work-up as part of our Stone Soup Plan.
We are proposing PRCI support our lab tests (at Kansas State’s National Gas Machinery Lab and Colorado State’s Engines and Energy Conversion Lab) beginning in the 4th quarter of this year through late 2018. These are the two leading gas compression/interstate pipeline industry-recognized testing laboratories.
RCT continues to assess other combustion process technologies that will provide improved engine performance. We are working with our university partners to prove technologies through simulation and lab testing. RCT plans to open an Internal Combustion Engine test facility for product development application testing.
RCTClean High-level Development Schedule:
4Q2017-2Q2018 Field Engine Simulation and Lab Testing (KSU) followed by customer-sponsored Field testing and analysis.
2Q-4Q2018 – Legacy Engine Simulation and Lab Testing (CSU) followed by customer-sponsored Field testing and analysis.
Late 2018-2019 – Optimize commercial design and begin delivery of RCTClean Upgrade Kits to Field and Legacy engine customers.
RCTClean will be ready for commercialization in the intrastate and interstatesegments one year after securing the necessary financial resources.
Want to learn more about Radical Combustion Technologies and what is planned for the future? Make sure to request access to the Business Plan tab of the profile to find out how you can get involved!