EIV Capital ploughs $47m into gas from cow manure facility
Houston-based private-equity firm EIV Capital has invested $47m into AMP Americas, which turns cow manure and other waste products into compressed natural gas (CNG), a cleaner alternative to diesel. The new funds will be used to set up a renewable natural gas production operation at an as-yet-unnamed Midwest dairy site, AMP said.
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AMP started as a company that turned the animal waste from 15,000 cows at Fair Oaks Farms in 2011 into a usable, renewable energy source. (Fair Oaks Farms)

AMP Americas, a Chicago company that makes commercial trucking fuel from cow manure, announced Thursday a $47 million private equity investment from Houston-based EIV Capital.

Launched in 2011 out of Fair Oaks Farms in northwest Indiana, AMP started as a company that turned waste from 15,000 cows into a usable, renewable energy source. Since then, AMP has expanded its sourcing to include other waste products as it markets and sells compressed natural gas, or CNG, an often cheaper and cleaner fuel than diesel.

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AMP CEO Grant Zimmerman said the company will use the new capital to launch a second renewable natural gas production operation at another Midwest dairy site that it won't yet name. It also plans to add to its existing network of CNG stations across eight states operated under its ampCNG segment, Zimmerman said.

"We are using (the $47 million) to primarily invest in new renewable natural gas projects at dairy farms," he said. "We will also use it to fund an expansion of our CNG business with a particular focus in California."

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AMP has 19 ampCNG stations with plans to open a 20th this fall, Zimmerman said. Its stations are located along interstates including I-10, I-65, I-75, I-55 and I-30, with its closest station to Chicago located in Fair Oaks, Indiana.

The Energy Information Administration estimates that CNG produces, on average, about 28 percent less carbon-dioxide emissions than diesel or gasoline. A gallon of CNG from one of AMP's Indiana stations currently costs less than $2.30. In comparison, the national average of a gallon of diesel fuel is about $2.50, according to AAA's most recent figures.

"Growth in our early years was fueled by $4 diesel prices," Zimmerman said. "Even with diesel prices now much, much lower, compressed natural gas is still less expensive than diesel on a per-gallon basis or per-mile basis in almost the entire country."

While CNG may be cheaper than diesel for commercial trucking in terms of fuel, it can still be costly for the commercial trucking industry, at least initially. A CNG-compatible tractor-trailer can cost between $30,000 and $50,000 more than a diesel one, Zimmerman said. But tax benefits can reduce that cost, he said.

Additionally, trucking companies can eventually save thousands of dollars from reduced fuel prices over the lifetime of a single truck, Zimmerman said.

Besides its ampCNG and its Renewable Dairy Fuels segments, AMP also operates a sourcing, marketing and risk-management businesses called ampRenew.

AMP has 16 employees, Zimmerman said. He would not comment on revenue. Since launching, AMP has raised $57 million in total funding, according to the company.

EIV Capital is a private-equity firm that focuses on the energy industry.

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Robert Holly is a freelance writer.

Twitter @robertwadeholly