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Indiana Company to Play Pivotal Role in New Global Emission Standards

New innovation to U.S. market will help shipping industry meet regulations

INDIANAPOLIS (April 18, 2019) — As marine shipping vessels brace for big reductions required regarding emissions standards, one Indiana company will deliver a solution to close the gap for the shipping industry and contribute to lowering global pollution.

A new report recently released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the global marine shipping industry – which makes up more than 80 percent of the global trade volume, and 70 percent of its economic value – will face a potential fuel crisis starting in 2020 when new international regulations go into effect. Those regulations will require ships to reduce their emissions from 3.5 percent to .5 percent – a significant reduction that has the shipping industry seeking innovative options to address the pending change.

That’s where Riverview Energy’s product – coal-derived ultra-low sulfur diesel – will step in to help close the fuel gap the report says the regulations will create. To meet new, more drastic regulations, marine shipping vessels will need to either switch to using natural gas, install expensive scrubbers, or use USLD.

“This innovation and our product will put Indiana at the forefront of global pollution reduction,” said Gregory Merle, president of Riverview Energy. “The United States has always been and will continue to be a leader in reducing pollution throughout the globe by developing sensible, clean energy from our most abundant resource.”

Riverview Energy is in progress to build a direct coal-hydrogenation plant in Dale, Indiana. The plant, ironically, has received criticism from a group of green advocates in the state’s region because it uses coal to develop the ULSD fuel. But Merle says that criticism is unfounded for many reasons, particularly the objection to coal.

“Frankly, coal is too valuable to burn,” said Merle. “Pollution-reducing ULSD is a perfect example of one of the countless products we can make from coal. Environmentalists should be celebrating this project for the fact that we are finding alternative uses for coal in a non-combustible way, all while reducing pollution worldwide.”

The Riverview Energy plant will be the first of its kind in the United States, using a Nobel-Prize winning process that does not burn or gasify coal. Coal particles are hydrogenated at high pressure and temperature; therefore, the plant will have a significantly lower carbon foot-print than other technologies.

Merle says Indiana coal is ideal for the process because of its high-sulfur content.

“The Illinois Basin coal, which Indiana has a virtually limitless supply of, is ideal for this process,” said Merle. “The coal works efficiently at up to 90-percent conversion rates and the sulfur in the coal is removed as a by-product. This is a truly efficient use of an abundant resource.”

Merle says the Dale plant is the starting point for Riverview Energy’s operations. The company plans to build more plants in the future, and make the coal-hydrogenation process a valuable part of the U.S. energy independence mix.

This process has been used extensively in Germany since the 1930s, and the technology is now in use in China, Russia and is planned for use in the Middle East as well.

For more information about Riverview Energy, email info@riverviewenergy.com

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ABOUT RIVERVIEW ENERGY

Riverview Energy Corporation is part of a privately held, sixth-generation, family-owned operation that has been in the energy industry since 1843. Few companies can boast this longevity. Our collective operations offer a wide range of carbon products to our customers, including thermal coal, coking coal and metallurgical coke – and we supply coal and other materials serving large multi-national needs in power, metals and cement production. Our enterprise sources coal from the ten largest producers in the world, selling coal to over fifteen different countries. Our collective operations span across Switzerland, France, Spain, India, Hong Kong and the United States. On the whole, our collective operations trade approximately 7 million tons of coal per year, selling to power stations, iron/steelmakers, cement and chemical producers, and others. Currently, the company is working to establish the Riverview Project in Spencer County, Indiana. Click here to learn more about this innovative and ground-breaking project in the United States.