GreatPoint Energy Appoints Jerry Oliver as Executive Vice President, Commercialization

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GreatPoint Energy, Inc., the leading developer of catalytic gasification technology to convert coal, petroleum coke and biomass into clean natural gas while enabling the capture and sequestration of CO₂, today announced that Jerry Oliver, an energy industry veteran with extensive technology development experience and former senior vice president of project development at the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, has joined the company as executive vice president, commercialization. In this capacity, Mr. Oliver will be responsible for the development of GreatPoint Energy’s first commercial project.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to work with GreatPoint Energy and to lead the commercialization efforts for their exciting technology”

Additionally, GreatPoint Energy also announced that after reviewing the successful test results from its pilot facility in Des Plaines, Illinois and independently assessing paths to scale-up with Jacobs Engineering, the company’s Board of Directors approved plans for immediate development of a commercial-scale facility. The company is currently in the process of selecting a preferred site for the project and is commencing detailed engineering and design with its engineering partners.

“We are fortunate and extremely excited to have someone with Jerry’s depth of experience join GreatPoint Energy’s team. Jerry’s recent experience in successfully leading the project development activities of FutureGen will prove extraordinarily beneficial to us as we develop our first commercial project and rapidly expand our development activities to multiple sites,” said Andrew Perlman, president and CEO of GreatPoint Energy.

Prior to joining GreatPoint Energy, Mr. Oliver was the senior vice president, project development, for the FutureGen Alliance, the organization representing some of the world's largest coal companies and electric utilities which was formed to work with the Department of Energy on the FutureGen project. While at FutureGen, Mr. Oliver was responsible for project development, which included leading the successful site selection process, developing a technical path forward for the project and managing all related contractors and staff. In his new role with GreatPoint Energy, Mr. Oliver will have overall responsibility for execution of the first commercial project, managing all facets of site selection, development, engineering, construction and operations.

Prior to his role with the FutureGen Alliance, Mr. Oliver gained tremendous depth of experience working for Bechtel in numerous capacities, including overseeing technical project and business development, and operations and business line management in various locations around the world. Prior to Bechtel, he also served in various technical, business management and project management capacities for major corporations such as Kennecott Copper, Exxon, SOHIO and British Petroleum.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to work with GreatPoint Energy and to lead the commercialization efforts for their exciting technology,” said Oliver. “Through its partnerships with industry leaders such as Suncor, AES and Peabody, and its proprietary technology that is years ahead of the curve, I believe this company is poised to take the necessary and major step of helping the U.S. reduce dependence on foreign energy sources by turning coal, petroleum coke and biomass into clean natural gas, while capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide.”

About GreatPoint Energy

GreatPoint Energy, Inc. is the leading developer of catalytic gasification technology to convert coal, petroleum coke and biomass into natural gas. Utilizing its proprietary conversion and carbon capture technology, GreatPoint Energy produces ultra-clean natural gas from widely abundant domestic feedstocks. Bluegas™, GreatPoint Energy’s natural gas product, meets all environmental requirements and can be transported throughout North America by existing pipeline infrastructure, delivering an effective alternative to exploration and production as well as imported liquefied natural gas. GreatPoint Energy was founded in 2005 by seasoned entrepreneurs Andrew Perlman, Avi Goldberg and Aaron Mandell. The company has raised $140 million of capital and includes as its investors: venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Advanced Technology Ventures and Khosla Ventures; financial investors, including Sustainable Development Investments, a unit of Citi Alternative Investments (a division of Citi); and strategic investors Suncor Energy, Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, The AES Corporation and Peabody Energy. The company is headquartered in Chicago, IL and is constructing a pilot and R&D facility in Somerset, MA. For additional information, please visit www.greatpointenergy.com.