Veteran oil exec takes helm at Range Fuels
Completing plant for alternative fuel is first objective
Gargi Chakrabarty
Published November 7, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Special to the Rocky
David Aldous' most recent post was at Royal Dutch Shell in London.
Range Fuels this week bolstered its position to take on the nation's energy challenge by hiring new Chief Executive David C. Aldous, a veteran executive at energy giant Royal Dutch Shell.
The Broomfield company plans to open a commercial facility near Soperton, Ga., next year to turn wood waste into fuel using a proprietary technology it has been testing at a Denver plant since January. The campaign of President-elect Barack Obama visited the pilot plant during the summer.
Aldous, 52, is warming up to the new job he started Monday, while waiting for his family in London to join him.
He was an executive vice president at Shell, responsible for mergers, acquisitions and other businesses with revenues topping $300 billion. He also was president of Shell Canada Products, where he led an $11 billion integrated oil business.
Born in Salt Lake City, he has a bachelor's degree in fuels engineering from the University of Utah and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He spoke to the Rocky on Thursday on various topics.
On switching from energy giant Shell to private startup Range Fuels
The challenges that we face are in three areas. I call them the three E's - energy challenge, the environment associated with energy we consume and the economy associated with the transfer of wealth that takes place between the United States and oil-producing countries.
Large companies like Shell continue to produce oil and make arrangements to bring those commercial sources to the market. While Shell does invest in technology, the pace at which large international companies can act (compared with) smaller companies like Range Fuels while addressing these issues is slower.
On Range Fuels
Ensure we have a culture of success within company, that we have a thriving company that people are excited to be a part of. The short-term objective is to complete our Soperton plant, which is in the early throes of getting built, prove the technology on a large scale, build on that foundation other plants across the United States. We will continue to make Colorado our corporate headquarters as we grow opportunities for jobs. But I don't know whether we will build a plant in Colorado. We locate where there's significant woody biomass.
On his immediate challenges
We need to continue to focus on building our Soperton project as economically as we can, as safely as we can - make sure there's no harm to people, no harm to the environment. We have not publicly stated the cost of the plant. We are not yet through with all of the final procurement from various vendors, but it's well over $100 million.
On the Obama administration's impact on Range Fuels
The issues mentioned are nonpartisan; they are not Democratic or Republican. The current administration - the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture - have been supportive. The next administration said they will be additionally supportive; we have had members of the Obama campaign come out to our plant in Colorado.
On clean, alternative fuels, including clean coal
I don't think there will be one answer. For issues of this magnitude, we need to come up with multiple answers. Range Fuels is an excellent solution for transportation challenges. We will need other technology to find cleaner alternatives for, say, electricity. The challenge with clean coal, with ensuring carbon capture and storage, is very expensive. Unless the cost of carbon goes up, or unless the cost of technology comes down, it will be a challenging alternative.
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