Evergreen Energy is a clean coal company and focuses on using its patented K-fuel process to enrich and upgrade low-grade, sub-bituminous coal, and lignite into a high-Btu, low-moisture, low-emission refined coal (K-fuel).

The refinement process reduces mercury content up to 70% and upon combustion reduces sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide emissions, which helps coal users meet emission standards. Coal is the largest source of power for U.S. electricity generation and the total consumption in the U.S. is about 1 billion tons/yr. Furthermore, an increasing amount of this coal the low-BTU quality which needs refining.

Over the past 20-years Evergreen Energy has obtained multiple patents for its K-fuel technology to process low-grade high-moisture coal, which is the most abundant kind of coal in the U.S. and the world, into refined K-fuel coal. When K-Fuel plants are located at the site of the electric generating plant, the steam from the generating plant can be used to refine the raw low-rank coal feedstock, with significant savings, the plant is referred to as a K-Direct facility. The company's long-term strategy is to build, own and operate K-Fuel and K-Direct facilities and to license the K-Tech technology to third parties.

In February 2007, Evergreen entered into an exclusive sub -license agreement to market a proprietary technology to standardize the measurement of carbon emissions. This will be important as the use of carbon credit trading begins to grow on a global basis. C-Lock Technology, Inc. will be the new subsidiary.

Headwaters Inc (NYSE: HW)

Headwaters Inc. is a diversified company that operates in three segments: (1) construction materials (45% of total 2007 fiscal revenue and 41% of gross profit), (2) coal combustion products (25% and 22%), and (3) alternative energy (30% and 37%).

The construction materials segment includes the manufacture and distribution of bagged concrete, stucco, mortar, and block products and is heavily dependent on the residential building and remodeling market. The coal combustion products segment sells the residual by-products of coal combustion, such as fly ash and bottom ash, as a replacement for Portland cement in a variety of concrete projects. The company has long-term contracts to obtain the by-products from coal-fueled electric generating utilities throughout the U.S. The alternative energy segment is focused on reducing waste and increasing the value of low-value coal by cleaning, coal liquefaction, converting gas to liquid fuel, and heavy oil upgrading.

The company owns and develops coal cleaning facilities, currently owning three plants with nine more in various stages of acquisition, planning, or construction

The company entered into a joint venture with Great River Energy (GRE) to develop and construct a 50 million gallon-per-year ethanol production facility near Underwood, North Dakota and a coal-drying project at the same location.

In July 2007 the company announced the formation of a strategic partnership with the Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of carbon nanospheres which is a new carbon nano-material.

Rentech Inc (Amex: RTK)

Rentech was incorporated in 1981 and offers technologies that utilize domestic resources to produce ultra-clean synthetic fuels and chemicals. The energy resources include coal, petroleum coke, biomass, natural gas, and municipal solid waste.

The company owns 21 patents pertaining to the Rentech process, which include Fischer-Tropsch (FT), coal-to-liquids (CTL), and gas-to-liquids (GTL). This Rentech process converts synthetic gas (syngas) derived from coal, petroleum coke, biomass or natural gas into liquid hydrocarbon products, including ultra high-quality diesel fuel, clean burning jet fuels, naphthas, waxes, and other fuel products.

The company operates an anhydrous ammonia fertilizer plant in Illinois which is the source of virtually all of its revenue. The company expects to begin operation at a new product demonstration unit in Colorado that will produce fuel in early 2008. The company also has an agreement with Peabody Coal to build and operate a synthetic fuel plant but no start date has been set. Because of the high costs of their R&D, however, the company has never earned a profit and continues to operate through new investments.

Rentech's strategic objective is to establish the Rentech Process as the standard technological platform for the production of ultra-clean synthetic fuels in North America and the world using a variety of feedstocks. To demonstrate the viability of the Rentech process, the company is building a commercial scale synthetic fuels plant called the Natchez Project in Mississippi. The plant is expected to be operational in 2011.

Fuel Tech, Inc (Nasdaq: FTEK)

Fuel Tech, Inc., incorporated in 1987, is an integrated company that utilizes a suite of advanced technologies to provide boiler optimization, efficiency improvement, and air pollution reduction and control solutions to utility and industrial customers worldwide. Fuel Tech's special focus is the worldwide marketing of its nitrogen oxide reduction and Fuel Chem process.

Fuel Tech's business is materially dependent on the continued existence and enforcement of worldwide air quality regulations.

The company's nitrogen oxide reduction technology reduces emissions in flue gas from boilers, incinerators, furnaces and other stationary combustion sources. This technology is currently installed worldwide on over 450 combustion units, including utility, industrial and municipal solid waste applications.

The Fuel Chem technology revolves around the application of specialty chemicals to improve the efficiency, reliability and environmental status of plants operating in the electric utility, industrial, pulp and paper, and waste-to-energy markets. Fuel Chem programs are currently in place on over 90 combustion units with the principal markets being electric power plants burning coal with slag-forming constituents. These plants are generally in Europe and Asia.

In January 2008 the company announced demonstration programs in China and India.