Hillsborough Company Takes Next Step Toward a Renewable Gas Supply

In about two years, a production facility using technology tested and proven in Hillsborough to convert natural gas into a cleaner-burning gasoline could be pumping out 27 million gallons of 93 octane gasoline annually.

The methods developed at Primus Green Energy, on Homestead Road, promise to not only enable the U.S. to use its mammoth gas supply to reduce use of foreign oil but could also be used to convert biomass—discarded wood pallets or stalks of corn—into usable fuel, as well. Additionally, by producing a gasoline product, the company's output is "drop in ready," and doesn't require retrofitting vehicles, shipping methods or gas stations.  

That's the promise the company offers after commissioning a demonstration plant on Wednesday, capable of producing about six barrels of gas daily, in Hillsborough with a crowd of officials, scientists and engineers on hand.

"The U.S. has a great supply of natural gas but imports crude oil," Dr. Yom-Tov Samia, chairman of Primus Green Energy, said at the commissioning event. "So here is Primus to say, 'Hey, guys, we have a solution.'"

The company has been developing and testing its method for several years in Hillsborough, working in conjunction with engineers from Princeton University, and the demonstration plant now in service took about a year to build. The company is preparing to start construct a larger commercial—scale plant sometime next year, with a projected date for completion of 2016.

With the demonstration plant proving the methods' viability demonstrated, the Hillsborough plant will be used to further the research, seeking more refined fuel conversions, such as to jet fuels and aromatic chemicals.

The commissioning event was attended by Primus CEO Robert Johnsen; Nir Gilad, president and CEO of the Israel Corporation, a financial backer of the company; and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

Lt. Gov. Guadagno said a project such as Primus' doesn't happen without cooperation between businesses and the state, county and local officials. She also touted New Jersey's highly-educated workforce available to innovative companies like Primus.

"We have more scientists and engineers in New Jersey per square mile than anyplace else in the world," she said. 

State Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman and Assemblywoman Donna Simon hopped into a Chevy Cruze for a test drive, after the car was filled with fuel from the plant. Following a short drive, Simon returned to say the drive was "very smooth."