CANONSBURG, Pa., Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CONSOL Energy Inc.
(NYSE: CEIX) announced today that it has made an initial investment
in the coal-to-products space by acquiring a 25% equity interest in
CFOAM Corp., a newly-formed US-based holding company whose
wholly-owned subsidiary, CFOAM LLC, has manufacturing facilities in
Triadelphia, West Virginia. CFOAM
Limited, an ASX-listed company, owns the remaining 75% of CFOAM
Corp. CFOAM LLC manufactures high-performance carbon foam products
from coal and focuses on meeting demand for high-grade materials in
the industrial, aerospace, military and commercial product
markets.
"This is our first major step in the coal-to-products area,
which leverages certain attractive properties of coal but with
significantly lower emissions and greater value uplift potential
than conventional combustion applications. These products not only
provide a high-margin revenue stream but also provide an intriguing
new opportunity to utilize the vast resource base that our country
is endowed with" said Jimmy Brock,
President and Chief Executive Officer of CONSOL Energy Inc.
"Consistent with our capital allocation process, the CFOAM
investment is part of CONSOL's measured investment bucket earmarked
for innovative and alternative uses of coal as a pathway for
diversification. Today, CFOAM products are used or being developed
for a wide range of markets including composite tooling for the
aerospace sector, as well as energy absorbing, structural, and
defense applications. We estimate that the total addressable market
("TAM") for such products is over $15
billion annually."
"We are very excited to partner with CONSOL Energy. This
investment and collaboration will offer the technical support and
business acumen CONSOL Energy has demonstrated for decades and will
enable CFOAM to advance as a reliable partner in the material
science industry" said Flemming Bjoernslev, President & CEO of
CFOAM LLC.
Some of the major highlights of the transaction include:
- CEIX has invested $3.5 million in
return for a 25% equity ownership in CFOAM Corp.
- CEIX has also provided a $1.1
million term loan to CFOAM LLC for working capital and
invested another $0.4 million to
acquire a first lien note of CFOAM LLC from one of CFOAM LLC's
first lien noteholders.
- CFOAM Corp. has a four-member board, comprised of two members
appointed by CFOAM Limited and two members appointed by CEIX.
- CFOAM Corp. has also retained CEIX as an advisor to provide
strategic, management, and operational advice.
- CFOAM Limited has also provided CEIX with certain preemptive
and anti-dilution rights, including the first right to provide any
future debt financing and the right to match certain offers for the
sale of equity or assets of CFOAM Corp. and CFOAM LLC.
With the completion of this transaction, CONSOL Energy is now
pursuing alternative uses of coal in the following different
areas:
- The CFOAM Corp. investment which is geared towards
high-performance engineering materials, which we estimate has an
over $15 billion TAM.
- CONSOL is also partnering on a DOE-funded project with
Ohio University and other industry
partners to develop coal plastic composites that are geared toward
the engineered composite decking and other building products
markets. Studies show that the global market for such plastic
composite materials is expected to exceed $8
billion by 2023.
- In addition, CONSOL has partnered with OMNIS Bailey LLC to
develop a refinery that will convert waste coal slurry into two
products: a high-quality carbon product that can be used as fuel or
as a feedstock for other higher-value applications, and a mineral
matter product that has potential to be used as a soil amendment in
agricultural applications.
About CONSOL Energy Inc.
CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CEIX) is a Canonsburg-based producer and exporter of
high-Btu bituminous thermal and crossover metallurgical coal. It
owns and operates some of the most productive longwall mining
operations in the Northern Appalachian Basin. Our flagship
operation is the Pennsylvania Mining Complex, which has the
capacity to produce approximately 28.5 million tons of coal per
year and is comprised of 3 large-scale underground mines:
Bailey, Enlow Fork, and Harvey. The company also owns and operates
the CONSOL Marine Terminal, which is located in the port of
Baltimore and has a throughput
capacity of approximately 15 million tons per year. In addition to
the ~698 million reserve tons associated with the Pennsylvania
Mining Complex, the company also controls approximately 1.6 billion
tons of greenfield thermal and metallurgical coal reserves located
in the major coal-producing basins of the eastern United States. Additional information
regarding CONSOL Energy may be found at www.consolenergy.com.
About CFOAM Limited
CFOAM® products are an inorganic carbon material that is
manufactured from coal, pitch or lignin feedstock. CFOAM® products
manufactured in this process have a rigid foam structure, similar
in appearance to pumice stone, but with entirely different
properties. CFOAM® products are currently used across a wide
variety of markets including composite tooling for the aerospace
sector, energy absorbing applications and defense applications.
Additional markets such as automotive applications for energy
absorption and fire resistance are also expected to become
significant to the CFOAM over time.
CFOAM® products were developed to meet the growing demand for
ultra-high-end performance engineering materials in the industrial,
aerospace, military and commercial product markets.
Contacts:
Investor:
Mitesh Thakkar, (724) 416-8335
miteshthakkar@consolenergy.com
Media:
Zach Smith, (724) 416-8291
Zacherysmith@consolenergy.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. With
the exception of historical matters, the matters discussed in this
press release are forward-looking statements (as defined in Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) that
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from projected results. Accordingly, investors
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a
prediction of actual results. The forward-looking statements may
include projections and estimates concerning the timing and success
of specific projects and our future production, revenues, income
and capital spending. When we use the words "anticipate,"
"believe," "could," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," or their
negatives, or other similar expressions, the statements which
include those words are usually forward-looking statements. When we
describe strategy that involves risks or uncertainties, we are
making forward-looking statements. We have based these
forward-looking statements on our current expectations and
assumptions about future events. While our management considers
these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are
inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive,
regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most
of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our
control. Specific risks, contingencies and uncertainties are
discussed in more detail in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press
release speak only as of the date of this press release and CEIX
disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information,
future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable
law.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consol-energy-announces-investment-in-coal-to-products-space-300983245.html
SOURCE CONSOL Energy Inc.