ChemTero uses state of the art chemical process simulation software to develop design concepts, process flow-sheet topology, and ‘heat and material’ balances. Our design philosophy and the parameters we use are those developed and proven through decades of industrial experience. This results in a more realistic design that builds in operational reliability, on-spec products, low overall cost, and long run times, while minimizing over-design issues. We specialize in developing manufacturing conceptual designs for novel first of its kind technology.
We evaluate new chemical and material process technology using a long list of criteria including the technical concept, proposed value proposition, novelty and challenges relative to prior art, feeds and products, safety & environmental, process design, catalysts, lab and pilot plant data, scale-up requirements, timelines, and costs. We also look at the business plan, company resources, and potential partner relationships to form an opinion about prospects for success, risk profile, and contingencies.
Your competitive advantage depends on strong patent protection and trade secret development. We have significant experience analyzing prior art landscapes and then developing an effective strategy of building safeguards for your technology area, especially for chemical processing. A successful approach seeks broad protection of the primary process concept or reactor design and additional protection in a secondary tier of adjacent areas to create a “picket fence” around the technology to keep potential competitors away. Additional strategies can include decisions to pro-actively publish articles to prevent other from claiming territory, as one example. We work within the constraints of your patent budget, and can make cost estimates of present and future patent expenses to build and maintain the portfolio as it grows.
ChemTero focuses primarily on chemical and material processes that reduce the production of CO2 and methane gas. New products try to displace existing “incumbent” ones, and therefore a thorough understanding of the energy balance for both new and existing processes is needed before an assessment of the benefits of the proposed technology can be evaluated. At times, it can be very difficult to acquire information about incumbent technology due to proprietary protections. Depending on the venture, it may be necessary to consider balances across the entire supply chain, whereas in others only a ‘differential’ analysis is made. The majority of information needed for these analyses comes from process design simulation modeling. We apply our in-depth understanding of incumbent technology with our analyses of new to complete the life cycle analysis.
Starting with a process design and an installed capital cost estimate, we add in estimates of fixed and variable operating costs, feed and product pricing, and other factors such as transportation costs to develop a comprehensive techno-economic model of the enterprise. Then a series of case studies and sensitivity analyses are run using the model to better understand the potential economic benefits of the process, and to identify areas of concern to be addressed. The results can be used to guide further process development activities, scale-up needs, and address “what-if” business objectives.
If you are interested in learning about another company’s technology, we can analyze information that is in the public domain plus our own experienced inputs including preliminary design work if needed to make estimates of their process economics and prospects for success. Typical public sources of information include the company’s website and news releases, patents and applications, publications, government permits, and SEC filings.
Process development is expensive and time consuming and there is no room for error. In today’s fast-paced investment environment, there is a strong push to accelerate. However chemical and material processing is more difficult than developing software applications or making an electronic or mechanical product. Typically, chemical processes are conceived and initially developed in small-scale R&D equipment. But at industrial scales and extended length of operation times, chemical reactions are subject to significant equipment size-related phenomena including complex hydrodynamics and heat & mass transfer, and by slow time-decay phenomena such as catalyst deactivation and contaminant build-ups. All of these make translation of lab to commercial scales extremely challenging, and therefore short-cuts are difficult to find. Instead, efficient innovation program management, and smart choices early-on in the program are needed to avoid disappointment and re-work. There is no substitute for experienced innovation management in the chemical industry, and ChemTero can provide it.
ChemTero’s principals have worked with dozens of the world’s largest corporations over 35 years, and with numerous smaller companies in the start-up space. Industries served include oil refining, fuels, chemicals, automobile, trucking, agriculture, construction, glass, ceramics, catalysts, and consumer products. We typically work under confidentiality agreements to protect your technology and trade secrets. Contact us for more information.
