Lockheed signs manufacturing pact with waste-to-energy firm

OWEGO — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) on Oct. 9 inked an agreement with Concord Blue Energy, Inc. making it the “exclusive manufacturing provider” of the firm’s reformer technology.

The technology converts waste to energy using advanced conversion technology, Lockheed said in a news release distributed Oct. 10.

Concord Blue says it specializes in transforming nearly any form of waste into a variety of clean, renewable fuels and energy. 

Concord Blue USA, Inc. is headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm also operates international offices in India, Germany, and Dubai.

The gasification reformer includes a tower, Mauricio (Mo) Vargas, Lockheed Martin’s program manager for bioenergy, says in an Oct. 14 interview.

“We will be the people to build many of the parts and pieces that are inside the tower,” says Vargas.

The Lockheed Martin site in Owego will be home to the first gasification reformer, a 250-kilowatt Concord Blue facility, constructed under the agreement, says Vargas.

When asked if the Owego site will manufacture additional reformers, Vargas indicated the firm hasn’t yet made a decision on that.

“It could be in Owego. It could be in Baltimore,” he added.

For the initial project, Lockheed Martin is hoping to partner with a firm in the Buffalo area for the manufacturing work, but Vargas declined to disclose the company’s name.

“The reason … [the agreement] was signed in Owego was because the first project we’re going to build is [for] the Owego facility,” says Vargas.

Dan Heller, vice president of new ventures for Lockheed Martin’s mission systems and training business, and Christopher (Charlie) Thannhaeuser, chairman and CEO of Concord Blue, signed the manufacturing agreement.

Working relationship
Lockheed Martin learned about Concord Blue while interviewing companies in its search for a partner in handling biomass, municipal solid waste, and other by-products. 

Lockheed wanted a partner to avoid disposing the waste in landfills, says Vargas.

“After about a year-and-a-half to two-year process, Concord Blue ended up being the company that we selected to partner with,” he added. 

The Owego site of Lockheed Martin includes a bioenergy plant that the firm uses for heating and cooling purposes.

Lockheed Martin and Concord Blue Energy in 2013 forged an agreement to offer an advanced waste-conversion system to address waste disposal, energy security, and climate-control issues. 

Vargas described the 2013 document as the “teaming agreement,” which set the parameters and the focus of the firms’ working relationship. 

“What we signed last week [on Oct. 9] was the actual licensing for the manufacturing,” explains Vargas.

When asked about potential customers, Vargas indicated “a lot” of Fortune 50 industrial customers are interested in a product to help them manage their sustainability efforts, along with several nations, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, China, India, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. 

Advanced waste conversion is an “emerging” technology that uses gasification processes to convert waste products to electricity, heat, and synthetic fuels.

It addresses the current burden on landfills, conventional incineration, and fossil fuels, along with the desire for green energy, Lockheed said.

Concord Blue’s waste-to-energy process employs a patented technology called steam thermolysis to convert waste material using heat transfer instead of incineration, “efficiently” producing syngas without combustion.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a security and aerospace company that employs about 113,000 people globally. The firm focuses on the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.

In Central New York, Lockheed Martin operates sites in Owego and Salina.

The corporation generated net sales of $45.4 billion in 2013, Lockheed Martin said.       

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com