The REgen Ecosystem
Driving Actual Sustainability and Transparency in the Clean Fuels Economy via Clean Energy Project Financing
Summary:
Solving the project financing conundrum for Clean Energy (in this case Clean Fuel) projects is critical to solving UN SDG goals both here in the US as well as globally. Government policies as well as industry can only do so much. Private sector financing is critical to accelerating industrial growth. REgen, as part of its existing platform, wants to solve for this climate critical issue together with the SheIsNear ecosystem.
Overview:
The REgen Platform provides primary fuel trading as well as services for the Clean Fuels (Hydrogen, Ammonia, Methanol) industry. These liquified gases have been produced for over 100 years – however, it is only recently that they are produced using “Green” Electricity (produced from renewable resources like wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal etc). The Clean Fuel industry brings full circle the Clean Energy economy – traditional renewable energy power plants can only be located where resources are abundant (ie. where the wind blows, sun shines etc) – now liquid fuel produced from these power plants can be used for travel by car, train, airplane, bus and even sea.
At this point in time, there is no other platform in Web 2.0 or Web3 that does what we do. The Clean Fuel industry has recognized the significant acceleration the REgen Platform provides with our fuel trading system, as without a spot/futures market, the economy will stagnate. What is also increasingly being recognized is the fact that we are an open and fair market for ALL businesses in this space – which means this is not a market dominated by the large Oil & Gas players. And with blockchain tracking and tracing every transaction, we provide transparency to EVERYONE who participates.
Motivation:
Our goal is to solve for major problems plaguing this economy, which in turn helps bring about faster a clean energy future. Part of how we do this is to offer an open, level playing field for all businesses in this ecosystem to participate – hopefully destroying the Oil & Gas cartel. Should we solve for this, the downstream benefits include:
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Cheaper, cleaner fuel: Creating an open, transparent fuel market for everyone to participate means that we will know the actual prices of these fuels. No more price obfuscation by O&G, no more cartels/oligopolies of exorbitant price setting, and no more being at the hands of a few large conglomerates dictating terms to the industry and consumers alike. Imagine a mom-and-pop gas station being able to buy hydrogen from the market, instead of a Shell/BP/Exon/Chevron/Air Liquide/Linde and their intermediaries. Imagine you as a customer being able to reap the cost savings as you pump Hydrogen into your Hydrogen car and the only exhaust you produce is water vapor. And you don’t need to buy a $30-50k EV to participate in this economy (expect Hydrogen cars to become equivalent to your traditional cars).
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Greater inclusion and participation & giving back to disadvantaged communities: By allowing smaller players to participate, we diversify the fuel supplier and buyer ecosystem. We enable startup players to sell their fuel in our platform. We enable buyers like mom-and-pop gas stations to be able to purchase fuel directly from these suppliers. We also work with regional/state/city governments to provide a customized platform where we work with policymakers to create and post green jobs, educational resources as well as use a portion of the taxes/fees collected to give back to marginalized and/or underrepresented communities.
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The ability to green Web3 & ESG-based Crypto Mining: Bitcoin/Crypto Mining Companies (eg. Gryphon Digital Mining) as well as Data Centers providing computing power to Web3 are increasingly looking for ways to “green” their crypto production, their blockchain ecosystem and their overall energy usage as the Web3 industry continues to grow exponentially. The traditional way of greening blockchain and mining operations has been using carbon credits. Those of us from the Energy industry know that carbon credits/carbon trading is more than just greenwashing, it is a multi-trillion dollar fraudulent industry with a good number of fake renewable energy projects “releasing” these credits to be sold/traded even though it is a scam. With the reputation that Web3 has, we cannot afford to be associated with more scam/fraudulent schemes. More importantly, Web3 has the opportunity to lead industries (similar to what Big Tech is doing) by diversifying their energy base into clean energy and clean fuels.
Benefits to SheIsNear & the NEAR ecosystem:
- Empowers the SheIsNear & NEAR communities via education and engagement, and provides access and the ability to participate in the energy economy via fractionally investing/microlending in the Clean Fuels industry.
- Enables certification and potential job creation for the community around the Clean Power and Clean Fuels industry for future career growth, especially in developing economies.
- Provides the SheIsNear ecosystem a first-of-its-kind sustainability project where NEAR truly is reducing its carbon footprint and “greening” the chain in a meaningful, non-fraudulent manner. Any taxes collected which are specifically meant for disadvantaged communities can be promoted as a joint initiative between REgen and NEAR (pending regulator oversight and approval).
The NEAR-powered REgen Financing Portal
Key Features:
The REgen Platform is an ecosystem of services for the Clean Fuels economy. Our current offerings (which are already built) include:
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Spot & futures trade of Hydrogen/Ammonia/ Methanol,
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Tracing “green projects” upstream to downstream, and
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Trade of Renewable Energy Certificates (the legit version of clean power offsets).
What we have propose with NEAR is to create an additional service to our ecosystem - the most important service for our platform from our assessment - of how to solve the project financing conundrum clean projects face. Hope this makes things a little clearer.
The NEAR-REgen financing portal will provide purchase and project financing to the the Clean Fuel ecosystem. This industry is a multi-trillion dollar industry but more importantly, financing Clean Fuel projects will drive UN Sustainability Development Goals across the US (and the World).
Purchase financing will enable buyers (including those in Web3) to make purchases of Hydrogen, Ammonia & Methanol with favorable, longer-term repayment terms. Web3 investors who provide financing (through liquidity/staking pools) will not only be investing in the Clean Fuel economy but also will receive favorable returns on their investment.
Project financing will enable suppliers to get their current and future Clean Fuel projects financed. Web3 investors (PE firms, VCs, Hedge funds, Web3 institutional investors, non-traditional accredited investors) investing in these projects will earn credibility from policymakers and regulators who distrust the industry. At the same time, these investors will receive an ROI as well as secure supply of clean fuel for the ecosystem’s use.
As such, the financing portal will bring in Web3 financing into our ecosystem and categorize the financing into:
- Short-term (purchase) financing, which we want to provide either directly or via liquidity/staking pools or via ecosystem liquidity that can be directed into short-term loans
- Medium-term (project) financing, which will be provided by more traditional Web3 investors/funds, going towards fractional ownership of in-development projects that will be built in 1-2 years.
- Long-term (project) financing, which will be provided by longer-term investors/blockchain foundations who want to fully own or have a majority stake in Clean Fuel/RE projects.
The good thing about solving an issue the energy industry faces is that policymakers and regulators will see this as a win. The SEC, while historically hostile to Web3 initiatives, will likely have a more conciliatory approach if Web3 funding goes into politically supported projects. And Web3 will be able to use the clean fuel for its operations while also showcasing how it is actually becoming “green”.
Timeline:
Within 6 Months (development will be fast, bring liquidity into the ecosystem via partnerships/investors will take some time to foster, hence the 6 month timeline)
Milestones/KPIs:
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Developed portal with Clean Fuel projects as well as stakeholder clusters fed into the system based on their investment preferences.
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Partnerships with NEAR, NEAR Foundation, SheIsNear as well as other blockchain/crypto foundations/ecosystems (eg, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana).
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Taxation structure for each transaction on the portal, where the proceeds will go towards disadvantages communities, Native American reservations, and/or industry education and job creation.
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A discord community where women, POC as well as the general NEAR ecosystem can be educated on the Clean Fuel industry as well as how to get involved in it (by fractional investing, by green job creation etc).
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Post-Project Success: Tracking users, projects loaded into the portal, purchases and projects where investments have been funneled into, tracking initial progress of these projects.
Deliverables:
Fully functional portal with access to pools of financing as well as listed projects/purchases that need investment
Team:
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Nisha Ramesh (CEO & Founder), R. Natesan (CSO) and Kshitij Parasrampuria (Technology & Product Head)
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Over 50+ years in Energy, across various renewable energy sectors. 10+ years’ experience in technology solutions (SaaS, Data Analytics, Web3).
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Built over $800M in energy project pipelines.
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Developed a cargo airlines business.
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Engaged with critical stakeholders: Vice-Presidents, Senators/Ministers, Policymakers, Regulators, Banks & Fis, Project Developers/Suppliers, Energy Buyers, Industrial/Business/Consumer Customers, People-At-Large (especially to dispel issues/myths surrounding Clean Power/Fuel).
Requested Budget: $25,000
Financial Breakdown:
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Portal Development (including manhours): $15,000
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Stakeholder outreach, engagement and onboarding: $7,500
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Post Development Marketing & Branding: $2,500
In a nutshell:
The NEAR-REgen Investment Portal enables the funding of Clean Fuel projects and purchases that will accelerate the Clean Economy. As Blockchains need to determine how best to “green” their ecosystem while also being regulatorily compliant, the REgen Financing Portal will enable both, with policymakers and regulators looking favorably on industries that invest in clean power/fuel projects whose output will ultimately be used by their industry (in this case Web3) itself. And because the REgen Platform allows ALL stakeholders to participate, including small energy players as well as the NEAR community, development of the Clean Fuel industry for Web3 will be done in an open, transparent, decentralized and inclusive manner. We seek funding support from SheIsNear ecosystem to ensure the success and impact of this important initiative.
For more information please do not hesitate to contact:
Nisha Ramesh
CEO, REgen (Regeneration Energy)
Company Linktree (social media): linktr.ee/regenh2