Syntec Biofuel Inc. has announced today that it will apply to change its name to Synthenol Inc. in order to differentiate the company from a conventional biofuel business. The company’s technology is based on a single process of converting syngas, generated from biomass, natural gas or coal, to ethanol, methanol, propanol and butanol.
The company has identified two reasons for the name change. First, the deletion of the term ‘biofuel’ highlights Syntec’s unique difference from companies producing solely corn, wheat and cellulosic ethanol. The company believes its range of four products poses a lower investment risk than producing a single biofuel, such as ethanol. The company also believes that it offers the opportunity for higher revenues, as the average price of the mixed alcohols, used primarily in the chemicals industry, is currently over $2.50 per gallon.
The second reason the company applied for the name change is that this change signals the expansion of the company’s research and development beyond merely biofuels. While its original business model was based solely on the utilization of biomass or biogas, its ability to produce mixed alcohols from natural gas and coal has allowed Syntec to increase the potential its catalyst offers and expand into other markets.
As Syntec CEO Michael Jackson noted, “We have decided to broaden our market reach by offering our technology to coal producers and to natural gas and methanol producers that might include Methanex, BP, Sabic and Mitsui.”
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