It's What You Know AND Who You Know; ME2C Environmental Says Its Technologies Help the Planet

Source: Morguefiles

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

You’ve heard the adage that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. While that might be true in some sectors, in the energy emissions control business, both matter.

ME2C Environmental MEEC states that it fights climate change while creating a successful business around its suite of environmental technologies. ME2C Environmental provides proven, patented emissions control technology along with expertise, insight, and innovation to the global energy sector — helping coal-fired utilities optimize operations, meet compliance regulations and reduce costs in the area of mercury emissions control.

According to ME2C, its sorbent enhancement additive (SEA®) system represents the best mercury emissions capture process available. This system is the leading technology used by a major percentage of the entire U.S. coal-fired utility fleet.

Coal-Fired Power Proliferates

In many countries, power generation from fossil fuels, such as coal, is in the process of transitioning to renewable energy sources. With the move toward clean energy expected to take 10 years or more, coal-fired generation will continue to play a major role in power generation across the global power grid over the next decade. While some older power plants have shuttered in the U.S. over the last couple of years, utilities have consolidated operating coal-fired boilers that burn more efficiently. Because of increased gas prices, coal power has increased globally in 2021 and will remain stable through at least 2025. After 2025, the EIA projects that only the most efficient coal-fired plants will remain operating through 2050 as natural gas prices rise and coal power plants remain competitive.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2020

Coal consumption for electricity generation is expected to grow by 75 MMst (17%) in 2021 as a result of relatively high natural gas prices that make coal more competitive for dispatch in the electric power sector.

Ash Pond Cleanup

ME2C believes that the cleanup of coal ash ponds is currently the largest environmental concern facing the U.S. today. Prior to his current appointment as EPA Director, Michael Regan, as North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary, led the charge enforcing ash pond cleanup from American energy giants like Duke Energy Corp. DUK, the largest coal ash cleanup in the U.S. to date, which involved the excavation of more than 80 million tons of coal ash and cost Duke Energy over $1 billion.

“Multiple U.S. Administrations have instituted policies to reduce mercury emissions and their byproducts, which we learned decades back are extremely harmful to our air, soil, and water,” said Richard MacPherson, President, and CEO of ME2C. “ME2C Environmental is committed to playing a significant role in reducing harmful emissions and improving the environment for future generations.” 

Imitation — the Sincerest Form of Flattery

The adoption of ME2C’s technology by the utility industry as the most widely used method of mercury emissions reduction validates its expertise and investment made over the past 17 years. The Department of Energy (DOE)’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) published a widely recognized report in 2008 that introduced the SEA® process to the utility market. Since then, the industry as a whole has moved to adopt this approach that enhances the effectiveness of sorbent technologies in the capture of mercury emissions. The SEA® process is currently in use by over 40 percent of the U.S. coal-fired fleet.

Rare Earth Elements: Crucial for American Independence and in ME2C’s Wheelhouse

Automobile catalysts, petroleum refining catalysts, televisions, magnets, batteries and medical device manufacturers rely on rare earth elements (REEs). The U.S. currently imports the REEs it consumes, primarily from China. DOE estimates annual global demand at approximately 150,000 tons, with the U.S. demand at approximately 11% of that or about 16,500 tons. ME2C’s emerging technology focused on the processing of REE extraction is at the forefront of the hunt for these elements.

ME2C Environmental believes its technology in the REE space will be significant for U.S. infrastructure. The U.S. is focused on sourcing rare earths domestically to reduce its reliance on China, currently the world’s largest provider of REEs. However, the processing of these rare earths, or separating the element from the ore, is not currently performed within the U.S. as the process has detrimental environmental effects. Acid leaching, the most commonly used method of REE separation, requires significant amounts of caustic acid to separate the element from the ore.  Both the use of and the disposal of the acid are quite harmful to the environment.

ME2C Environmental says that the technology it has under development could be useful in any application where rare earths are extracted using a leaching process, which includes rare earths obtained from mining, as well as those removed from coal ash, which is rich in REEs, as well as harmful contaminants such as mercury and arsenic. 

Learn more about investing in the climate change fight with ME2C.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.