Kerogen and other large, solid, organic macro-molecules are found in certain sedimentary rocks — the raw material from which coal, crude oil, and natural gas form, given enough geological heat and time. Rather than waiting on geology, our patented process applies controlled pyrolysis to transform these materials directly into a versatile oil we call Kerogenate: a rich mixture of carbon compounds from light gases through mid-distillates to heavy asphaltenes, resins, and pitch.

At the core of our process is the Thin Bed Cross-flow Retort (TBCR), coupled to a fractionation column. Together they perform what we term KTC — Kerogen To Chemicals — transforming kerogen ore into Kerogenate and separating it into product fractions in a single integrated operation, protected by two granted U.S. patents (US20180355254A1 and US20210054290A1).

Sustainability is designed in, not added on. Where legacy retorting combusts fossil fuels for heat, the TBCR may use renewable electrical and radio-frequency heating — the key to Kerogenate's low carbon intensity. KTC also manages heteroatoms such as nitrogen, sulfur, mercury, and arsenic, raising product value across agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, surfactants, solvents, polymers, asphalt, and carbon-carbon composites.

The technology is demonstrated, not theoretical: the Vernal pilot plant — built with private funding and a USTAR-TAP grant — has demonstrated the commercial potential of kerogen retorting for carbon products, and a full life cycle assessment (LCA) of the process has been completed. Commercialization follows three phases: Phase 1 operates the pilot plant in batch mode to establish the product slate and develop markets; Phase 2 uses pilot data for modelling and scale-up to design the first commercial plant; Phase 3 builds and operates it.