Renewable fuels company Raven SR bolsters leadership team, secures $15M investment

- Stuart McFarland, former Fannie Mae CFO, named board chairman

- Raven SR CFO Matt Scanlon promoted to president

- Ascent Funds leads investments with Chevron New Energies, Itochu, Stellar J Corp.

PINEDALE, Wyo., April 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Raven SR Inc. (https://ravensr.com/), a renewable fuels company, announced today key board additions and an executive promotion, coupled with securing $15 million in new investments, positioning the company for further growth and innovation in the clean energy sector.

The company said the latest fundraising underscores the confidence in Raven SR's proprietary Steam/CO₂ Reforming technology that converts various waste streams into renewable transportation fuels like hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The process outperforms all known alternatives in efficiency, producing more hydrogen and SAF per ton of waste.

In addition to the funding milestone, Raven SR said Stuart McFarland, former CFO of Fannie Mae, has been appointed chairman of the Board of Directors, with Mark Gordon, chief investment officer of Ascent Funds, as vice chairman.

Named as new board members: Justin Heyman, managing director of RockCreek Group, and Robert Kinghorn, founder and CEO of Stellar J Corp. Matt Scanlon, the current CFO, has been promoted to president and interim CFO.

Ascent Funds, a venture capital fund dedicated to advancing the energy transition, led the latest $15 million investment, with contributions from existing investors Chevron New Energies, ITOCHU Corp. and Stellar J Corp., the engineering, procurement and construction company managing construction of Raven SR's hydrogen project in Richmond, California.

"Raven SR is pleased to have the continued and enhanced support of our investors as we move toward construction of our organic waste-to-hydrogen facility," said Matt Murdock, founder and CEO of Raven SR. "This funding is crucial for finalizing our production setup, and the expanded board strengthens our team for the next phase."

McFarland said he was honored by the board's trust in his leadership and is looking forward to teaming with Murdock as they move the company ahead. McFarland also acknowledged the support from shareholders and the dedicated project team, emphasizing their importance in Raven SR's journey.

"With this solid foundation, 2024 is shaping up to be a landmark year for Raven SR as it commercializes its Steam/CO₂ Reforming technology to bring clean and sustainable fuel to the world," said McFarland.

Raven SR's unique process is non-combustion and catalyst-free as verified by the California EPA. The Richmond project is the first and only California Environmental Quality Act-permitted biomass-to-hydrogen facility in the state.

The Steam/CO₂ Reforming technology diverts waste from landfills, produces a carbon-negative fuel and ensures a low carbon footprint compared to traditional hydrogen production methods, placing Raven at the forefront of the waste-to-hydrogen sector.  

About Raven SR
Raven SR is a renewable fuels company whose proprietary Steam/CO2 Reforming process converts waste materials, solid and gaseous, into hydrogen and Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel, with low to negative carbon intensity. Its non-combustion process reliably produces hydrogen-rich syngas regardless of the feedstock utilized. The Raven SR process does not use fresh water and is more efficient than both conventional hydrogen production and electrolysis. Raven SR's modular and scalable design allows emissions-free renewable fuels to be produced locally using local waste, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, achieving a low-carbon economy. Visit https://ravensr.com.

About Ascent Funds
Ascent Funds is a US-based energy platform that seeks champions within the hydrogen ecosystem. Ascent is led by Mark Gordon, veteran Wall Street energy investor with senior positions at Goldman Sachs, Soros Fund Management, Paulson & Co and Janus Henderson; and capital markets executive David Wu, a former Rothschild banker and Chairman of Capital Markets for Fosun International, one of the largest investment conglomerates in the world managing over US$100bn in total assets. Visit www.ascent-funds.com.

About ITOCHU
The history of ITOCHU Corporation dates back to 1858 when the Company's founder Chubei Itoh commenced linen trading operations. Since then, ITOCHU has evolved and grown over 160 years. With approximately 100 bases in 62 countries, ITOCHU, one of the leading sogo shosha, is engaging in domestic trading, import/export, and overseas trading of various products such as textile, machinery, metals, minerals, energy, chemicals, food, general products, realty, information and communications technology, and finance, as well as business investment in Japan and overseas. Visit https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/index.html.

About Stellar J Corporation
Stellar J is a merit-based, employee-owned company founded on hard work, principled business practices and the relentless pursuit of excellence. Since 1986, these core principles have allowed Stellar J Corporation to grow into a company offering general contracting and EPC contracting services nationally. Visit www.stellarj.com.

SOURCE Raven SR Inc.