N-Flex gets $1 M grant, new investor

Bismarck — The North Dakota Industrial Commission took several months to decide, but now has given its approval to a $1 million grant to help developers push ahead with their N-Flex mobile process, which converts flared natural gas at the well site into ammonia fertilizer. Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, who is a commission member with Gov. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, and Attorney General Wayne Steneheim told Green Markets that “we rarely do it. So there was a great deal of consideration before we approve a million dollar grant. Our grants are rarely that high. Actually significantly less.” But Goehring and the others see a lot of positives. “What N-Flex is proposing would cap well head gas onsite, reduce flaring, generate revenue for the mineral owner and extraction taxes for the state, and develop fertilizer for agriculture producers,” he asserted. Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms also welcomed the decision, declaring the N-Flex technology “a win for everyone and an incredible synergy between North Dakota’s two largest industries, agriculture and oil.” Neil Cohn, N-Flex key developer who was contacted in San Diego at the Agricultural Retailers Association Conference described the commission’s action as a key catalyst that shows the state’s support for going hand-in-hand to markets. “It means we will be basically partnering with the state,” Cohn added. At the same time, Cohn also announced that Beowulf Energy, a private equity firm focused on the acquisition and development, construction, and operation of energy infrastructure facilities worldwide, has acquired the rights to N-Flex distributed ammonia technology. “Beowulf recognizes the importance of distributed ammonia production and sees N-Flex’s approach as the leading technology to convert gas to liquids to benefit both energy and agricultural markets,” commented Paul Prager, Beowulf founder and CEO. Cohn will join Beowulf to continue developing the distributed ammonia business. The N-Flex technology was developed on an exclusive basis with Ammonia Casale and Proton Ventures; Beowulf has the exclusive rights to deploy these small-scale units in North America.