Energy

The demand for energy is still rising globally especially in emerging economies. Energy sources that belong to UC Investments domain include traditional fuels as LPG and LNG but also renewable energy sources as bio oils and bio fuels.

The demand for energy, which does not contribute to long-cycle CO2 emissions, will rise in the near future. To achieve this goal the technologies to bring about these fundamental changes have to be developed. Therefore the number of investment opportunities in renewable energy sources could be greater than the energy industry has ever seen. UC Investments especially invests in emerging economies to enable utilization of the latest techniques and methods of energy production.

Although UC Investments has a solid background in traditional energy media, it has recognized the importance of renewable energy sources and production methods. In recent years, biomass-derived fuels have received increasing attention as one solution to the continued and growing dependence on imported oil, which exposes the risk of critical disruptions in fuel supply, creates economic and social uncertainties for businesses. A number of next generation biofuels show significant promise in helping to overcome these problems and UC Investments uses it knowhow and network to also excel in this emerging field.

Oil

Algae technology, algae present an exciting opportunity in a wide variety of field, as it can address two pressing issues; the availability of clean water and the security of energy supplies. The significant potential of algae oil to serve as renewable transportation fuels warrants our thorough consideration of what efforts are necessary to make them a commercial-scale reality.

Not only can the oils of the algae be used as biofuel, the bio mass of the algae can be efficiently converted in an anaerobic digester to biogas. In collaboration with the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) and the University of Leuven (Belgium) UC Investments is involved in a project to produce renewable energy. In addition to a variety high value products, algae can also be used for the purification of wastewater streams making this a highly interesting and versatile technology for UC Investments.

Biomass

Biomass can also form a valuable source of bio energy and products. Utilization of biological waste streams decreases the waste problem and provides cheap product precursors. UC Investments creates total solutions together with technical specialised companies in new energy including the collection, separation, recycling, treatment, validation and marketing of the products. Thermal processes like pyrolyse or gasification, in which the organic material is heated in absence of air until the molecules thermally break down and bio-oil and syngas are produced. These products can be used for the generation of electricity or in a refinery.

Natural gas

Natural gas is a vital component of the world’s supply of energy. It is one of the cleanest, safest, and most useful of the fossil energy sources. This is also recognized by UC Investments, which is involved in the production, transportation, and marketing of CNG and LNG.

Biogas

Next to the production of bio oil from biomass, biomass can also be converted in biogas. The anaerobic digestion of bio mass produces biogas, the biomass can either be a waste stream or biological residue for the algae biofuel production. This biogas can be used either for cooking/heating applications, for generating of electricity, or it can be upgraded to a compressed form, compressed bio methane or a liquefied form; liquefied bio methane (LBM).

UC investments provides equipment to produce bio fuels from biomass. These include anaerobic biogas power plants, pyrolysis power plants and gasification power plants. UC Investments is also engaged in the development, planning, construction and operation of these plants.

Liquefied Bio Methane

Liquefied Bio Methane (LBM) is energy medium is a produced by compressing and purifying biogas to a liquid energy medium. LBM has higher energy value as biogas per volume, which makes it a portable energy carrier for the automotive and niche markets. As LBM is produced from biogas it is certifiably green and does not contribute to the long cycleCO₂ emission as well as a reduction of other polluting compounds in flue gasses.

UC Investments currently works with many partners to establish a LBM chain, in which the production of bio gas, liquefaction techniques, and different selling markets are considered. By the early participation of UC Investments to the distribution of LBM, UC Investments will able to meet the growing needs of LBM in the future. UC investments provides equipment for LBM production and distribution. We can also distribute LBM within our network of clients in collaboration with United Gas Netherlands.