Energy and battery storage investor Quinbrook moves into biogas with US acquisition

Global investment manager Quinbrook has acquired US biogas company Purpose Energy, marking its first foray into biofuels.

Quinbrook, which focuses exclusively on energy infrastructure investments, has invested a total of US$8.2 billion in energy infrastructure assets since the early 1990s. The company has offices in New York, Hong Kong, London, Jersey, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Purpose Energy is an established renewables and biogas specialist with fifteen years’ experience. The company develops and operates projects converting waste streams into biogas for use in industry, conversion to renewable energy, or refinement to ‘renewable natural gas’ (RNG).

Biogas, composed primarily of methane, CO2 and hydrogen sulphide, can be burned as a fuel. RNG is an upgraded version of biogas that can be fed through conventional natural gas pipelines.

Both are made when bacteria digest organic matter (for example, plant waste or animal manure) in the absence of oxygen, while RNG is produced when the methane content in biogas is increased by the removal of water vapour, CO2 and other ‘impurities’.

In principle, RNG and biogas are both considered renewable fuels because the carbon emitted when the gases are burned was only recently removed from the atmosphere by the living creatures from which the gas was made. Proponents say there is no net increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.

“Quinbrook is excited to be moving into such a high growth and important sector that desperately needs more sustainable solutions to convert organic food waste into renewable power and biogas,” said Quinbrook managing partner and co-founder David Scaysbrook.

“The demand for renewable fuels is exploding and in PurposeEnergy we have found a highly capable technical and operational team that have been in business over a decade, delivering impactful solutions for customers and the environment,” he said.

Headquartered in New Hampshire, PurposeEnergy uses its own proprietary methods patented by the company to convert organic waste to biogas and RNG which it sells to customers under long-term contracts.

According to a Quinbrook release, PurposeEnergy has developed, designed and built seven projects across major food and beverage companies, with one currently under construction, and two to begin later this year. The company also works with dairy farms.

“For more than a decade, PurposeEnergy has demonstrated technical and operational excellence in treating process wastewater and organic residuals for industrial food and beverage producers,” said PurposeEnergy founder and CEO Eric Fitch.

Jed Davis, from the Agri-Mark Family Dairy Farm, said the construction of a resource recovery centre next to its cheddar cheese and whey protein plant enabled it to send byproducts of cheesemaking to the digester via pipeline, creating renewable energy.

He said this direct diversion eliminates the trucking of over 250 loads per month, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2,000 tonnes a year.