Nacero has licensed Topsoe TIGAS (Topsoe Improved Gasoline Synthesis) technology for its multi-billion USD natural-gas-to-gasoline facility in Penwell, Texas to produce 100,000 barrels per day of gasoline component ready for blending into US commercial grades.

The plant will produce cleaner gasoline from low-cost natural gas, captured bio-methane from farms and landfills, and mitigated flared gas from the Permian basin. Topsoe is providing engineering and design services currently and will supply catalyst and proprietary hardware to the facility.

The Penwell facility will be the first gasoline manufacturer in the world to incorporate carbon capture and sequestration. The captured CO₂ will be used for enhanced oil recovery.

Nacero’s Pemwell-facility in Houston, Texas.

Gasoline produced by the TIGAS technology contains no sulfur, is cost-competitive with traditional gasoline, and can be used in today’s cars and trucks without modification. Nacero’s Penwell facility will create a market for natural gas that is currently vented or flared and is expected to double the US market for captured bio-methane.

By making gasoline without the byproducts of crude oil refining, Nacero’s Penwell facility will avoid the introduction into the atmosphere of 1 billion tons of CO₂ during its first thirty years of operation.

By making our gasoline from natural gas, renewable natural gas, and captured flare gas rather than crude oil, Nacero will offer America’s 225 million drivers an affordable, everyday climate solution. The TIGAS technology enables us to cut both the production cost and the lifecycle carbon footprint of everyday fuel by 50%.

As a result, we will be able to profitably sell our environmentally superior fuel at competitive prices. We will use existing vehicles, markets, and infrastructure to quickly, predictably, and cost effectively bring Nacero Blue and Green gasoline to US markets and help mitigate climate change.

—Jay McKenna, Nacero President and CEO

Nacero selected TIGAS after careful consideration of competing technologies. The fact that TIGAS has been operating at identical unit scale in Turkmenistan for nearly two years was a major factor in Nacero’s decision. The Turkmenistan facility is the only large-scale natural gas-to-gasoline plant presently operating in the world.

TIGAS incorporates Topsoe’s SynCOR Methanol technology that achieves exceptional economy of scale. By using six SynCOR Methanol plants, Nacero’s Penwell plant will produce more than 30,000 metric tons per day (MTPD) of methanol, which will then be processed to gasoline. The only byproduct will be water, which will be recovered and used to supply 80% of the plant’s make-up water. The Penwell facility will also produce ‘blue’ hydrogen.

The TIGAS technology has a very high carbon efficiency which results in savings in natural gas. The proprietary Topsoe upgrading unit will make it possible for Nacero to produce a wide range of commercial gasoline grades that meet US specifications, including those of California.

Nacero and Topsoe have established an alliance for the supply of Topsoe technology and catalysts for future Nacero natural gas-based gasoline production facilities in the United States.

Founded in 2015, Nacero is led by a team with more than 400 years of combined successful project experience across power, renewables, LNG, fuels, and petrochemicals.