America First Refining ______________________________________________________________________________________
domestically. Ultimately, energy policy is national security, particularly in light of recent instability in the Middle East. The US now has an opportunity, and arguably a responsibility, to be both energy independent and a reliable fuel supplier to the Western Hemisphere.”
When it comes to global responsibility, AFR is also highly conscious of its environmental footprint, most notably burning hydrogen rather than conventional fuel, which significantly reduces CO₂ emissions, as John expands on:“ The lightend gases in shale crude contain a high percentage of hydrogen, which we’ ll use to power our boilers and on-site power plant. Additionally, our large high-octane reformer will produce an enormous daily output of around 200 tons of hydrogen. We’ ll use those BTUs to power and heat the facility, further reducing emissions. The plant has been designed flexibly so that we can divert excess hydrogen into blue ammonia production or other future fuel carriers.”
The evolving story of AFR appears an unlikely one at first; a single entrepreneur, a border city that the majority of the energy industry had overlooked, a seven-year-long permit battle, and a bet placed on a crude oil that established refiners had spent years avoiding.“ The role of the entrepreneur is sometimes to look around the corner and take a risk where other companies won’ t,” John maintains.“ I spent 12 years working on this with no guarantee of a return.” His willingness to absorb regulatory, commercial, and logistical uncertainty is what makes AFR stand out – the project is real, the engineering is underway and the modules are being built.“ Hopefully, if there’ s any wider impact from what we’ ve achieved here, it’ s to show other entrepreneurs that believing in your ideas and attempting to make them reality – no matter how difficult – is still worth it.”
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