1.      What is the GEM^TM?

The GEM^TM is a waste-to-energy conversion system.  It processes post-consumer waste made up of food, paper, plastic, wood and agricultural waste, and turns this trash into clean electricity.  What is unique about the GEM^TM is that it is the first compact, mobile system that can be housed on-site by fbusiness and venues.

2.      What are the environmental benefits of the GEM^TM? 

By diverting tons of trash from landfills, the GEM^TM reduces greenhouse gas emissions that are emitted from trash as it decays.  In fact, this type of waste makes up 95 percent of the trash collected by garbage trucks, which would result in less trash, less trucks, less fuel used, and less greenhouse gas emissions overall – a huge benefit for the environment.   In addition, the GEM^TM produces a negative carbon effect by “converting and diverting” trash into clean energy,    benefitting the environment in two separate phases.   

3.      Where can the GEM^TM be used? 

The GEM^TM is intended for commercial use only.  Any company, complex or venue that produces an excess of two tons of trash a day, or uses 120kW of electricity a day can benefit from the GEM^TM . One GEM^TM can process up to three tons of trash each day, making it ideal for large venues such as an office complex, hotel, mall, restaurant, stadium, ballpark, college/university campus, large apartment building, etc.  It is also ideally suited to process a large amount of the trash collected by cities, towns and waste management companies from buildings and households. 

4.      What monetary advantages does it offer to customers? 

The GEM^TM provides customers with money savings on their waste-management costs and electricity costs by reducing the amount of trash that needs to be transported by up to 95 percent, and supplementing their energy bill through clean, efficient, robust, and self-sustaining energy source.

5.      How does the GEM^TM produce electricity? 

Simply put, the GEM^TM turns waste into pellets, and then converts those pellets into a clean synthetic gas.  This gas is then sent to an electric generator which produces the electric power.  Trash is the perfect energy source because there is a never-ending supply.  The average person produces 4.5 lbs. of trash every day and trash is something that will never go away.  We like to say there is gold in the landfills.   

6.      Will the GEM^TM replace the need for household or commercial recycling programs? 

Recycle first.  If you can’t recycle it, GEM^TM it. The GEM^TM can process post-consumer waste (including food, paper, plastic, wood and agricultural waste) but recycling programs are still an important way to reduce waste in landfills.

7.      Does the GEM^TM produce emissions? 

The GEM's^TM gasification system operates under negative pressure so gases are not emitted. It uses electric generators that meet current emission standards for NOx, SOx, and CO2. The GEM^TM actually reduces carbon emissions as a result of the reduction in waste hauling, landfill, and fossil fuel use. The generator does release some carbon emissions, but this is offset by the other components of the GEM^TM, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 540 tons annually, making the whole system carbon negative.

8.      How much noise does the GEM^TM make?  

The standard GEM^TM configuration emits 82 decibels of noise at full load, measured at 23 feet. 

9.      What is downdraft gasification?  Is it safe?   

Downdraft gasification uses high heat to decompose trash in a controlled process.  Unlike with other waste-to-energy conversion processes, downdraft gasification is a much cleaner process, as there is no smoke or odor created. Downdraft gasification has made huge technological advances since it was originally used in the 1800’s.  The GEM^TM was designed to meet the rigors of the U.S. Department of Defense, which dictated that it had to be easy and safe to use. It’s proven to be safe to operate in an urban setting.

10.     How much does the GEM^TM cost? 

The GEM^TM is priced at $850,000. We estimate that the reduced waste disposal and energy costs to a business will result in an average of a 3-4 year return on investment.  This depends on the components of the waste stream and the customer’s electricity, gas, and waste disposal costs.

11.     When was IST Energy founded and where did it receive its funding in today’s difficult economy? 

IST Energy was founded in January of 2008 as a spin-off of Infoscitex, a R&D engineering company. The company has received funding through the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and an angel investor.

12.     How did you price the GEM^TM?

We set the price for the GEM^TM at what we consider to be an affordable fair market value with a tangible return on investment.

13.     What is the installation process?  Is there additional work or cost involved on the customer’s end? 

The GEM^TM will be delivered ready for easy integration and IST Energy is there every step of the way to ensure a smooth installation process. 

14.     What is the life of the GEM^TMand what maintenance is involved?

We estimate the life of the GEM^TM to be at least 15 years and that is factored into the payback equation.  With proper maintenance, the life of the GEM^TM is indefinite.

15.     What are your sales goals and how do you plan to remain profitable? 

IST Energy is well positioned for success, with the financial resources necessary to sustain us through early 2010.  More importantly, given our robust sales pipeline, we expect to see a positive revenue stream resulting from new sales this year.   

16.     What are your plans for dealing with potential competition?

Competition confirms that there is a large market for this product.  The market for the GEM^TM is enormous because everyone produces trash and we all need energy.

17.     I understand the benefits, but why would a business NOT want a GEM^TM? 

The GEM^TM is designed for venues that produce at least 2 tons of trash. Given the demonstrated ROI, we think that the GEM^TM has tremendous potential to help a variety of customers save money and be greener.

18.     Is your business impacted by local regulatory hurdles? 

We certainly recognize that the energy industry is regulated and we are working with the state and local regulations that currently exist.

19.     Do you have plans to scale the GEM^TM up for bigger venues or down for home use? 

We would love to do both.  Right now we’re focused on launching the flagship GEM^TM into the market but this is something we think would be worth exploring down the road.

20.     Is the GEM^TM burning trash, and what does that do to the environment? 

The GEM^TM is not actually burning trash – it is thermally converting trash into energy. It’s important to know that the GEM^TM uses a controlled decomposition of materials through high heat.

21.     How is the GEM^TM different from wind and solar energy alternatives? 

While wind and solar processes are reliable energy sources, neither helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  In contrast, the GEM^TM creates clean energy and further benefits the environment by substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions that occur through transporting and dumping waste, including reducing the use of trucks and lowering the amount of garbage that is emitting greenhouse gases as it decays in landfills. 

Additionally, the financials are better with the GEM^TM because it reduces energy costs and waste disposal costs.  The average payback period for the GEM^TM is 3-4 years, compared with 4-7 years for wind turbines and up to 10 years for solar.

22.     Is downdraft gasification the same as incineration (burning), and haven’t many municipalities banned incineration (burning) as a means of processing trash? How is downdraft gasification different from plasma, pyrolysis and fluidized bed gasification? 

·               Downdraft gasification uses high heat to decompose trash in a controlled process. The GEM^TM  downdraft gasification process is environmentally friendly, as it does not omit any greenhouse gas.

·               Incineration is only a waste disposal method - it does not produce energy in the process. It also doesn’t use a controlled process, nor is it environmentally regulated, as trash is simply put into a chamber and burned – which can create dangerous gases and chemicals.

·               Plasma gasification involves pushing the waste through a plasma screen.  While it is effective, plasma technology uses very high voltage, so it takes much more energy to generate energy - it’s not self-sustaining like the GEM^TM . In addition, plasma technology only allows for this process to be done in a large factory setting.

·               Pyrolysis is similar to incineration and is most commonly used for organic materials. Pyrolysis often occurs spontaneously at high temperatures and is heavily used in the chemical industry.

·               Coal gasification can be a cleaner process, but it does not eliminate waste during the process as the GEM^TM does.

23.     Why is an on-site system (the GEM^TM) better than shipping waste to an off-site plant to be converted into energy? 

First, transporting waste – to a plant or landfill – has high costs both financially and environmentally.  Companies need to pay for trucks to haul the garbage, and those trucks give off a lot of emissions during the process.  The GEM^TM essentially takes waste disposal from two steps to one step, eliminating the need for transportation. 

24.     Can the GEM^TM be used as two separate products, one dealing with waste management and another addressing energy needs? It sounds like there are two ‘pieces” to the GEM^TM … one that processes waste and another that creates energy.  Can these pieces work independently of each other?   

Utilizing the entire system is beneficial both environmentally and financially.  However, the GEM^TM can certainly be used as two separate products, depending on the needs of the individual customer and that’s something we could explore. For venues that produce a lot of trash but don’t use a lot of energy, it is financially beneficial to use the first half of the GEM^TM to reduce the volume of trash that is transported. For venues that do not produce a lot of trash but consume a lot of energy, it may be beneficial to acquire the pellets the GEM^TM produces and use the second half of the system to create clean energy at a lower cost. 

25.     How will you work with waste management and utility companies?  Do they view IST Energy as competition and a threat to their bottom line? 

The waste-management and energy industries are changing and moving towards energy independence, cleaner solutions and financial responsibility. The GEM^TM addresses all three of these trends and creates an opportunity to work with waste-management and utility companies in creating a new and better model moving forward.

26.     Due to the recent drop in energy costs and usage, isn’t it likely that the need/demand for the GEM^TM will decrease as well? 

The important feature of the GEM^TM is that it creates energy from trash. Since the removal, transportation, and disposal of waste is so expensive (and rising!) — and since trash is not going away ­— GEM^TM users can save a great deal of money simply by using the GEM^TM as a waste disposal unit.  Energy production is an added cost saving option, but it is not the only way the GEM^TM saves users money.  Since we will always have an abundance of trash and will always need energy, the GEM^TM will continue to be a financially sound investment that also benefits the environment.

27.     President Obama has been steadfast in his support for alternative energies.  What effect has this had on IST Energy, and how does IST Energy/the GEM^TM complement his plan? 

Barack Obama has been supportive of technologies that limit greenhouse gases.  The GEM^TM , in fact, goes a step beyond that by reducing greenhouse gases associated with waste-disposal  -- something that was previously viewed as ”unavoidable.”  While we applaud alternative technologies that reduce our energy and oil dependence, only the GEM^TM is able to provide the additional benefit of eliminating waste in the process.

28.     Why is now the right time for GEM^TM technology? Why go to market now? 

We are on the verge of a significant shift in the waste management and energy industries, and the GEM^TM is at the forefront of this shift. Technologies such as the GEM^TM can take a lead role in changing the way we think about and dispose of trash. There’s gold in the landfills; gold that can easily and affordably be turned into clean energy.  If we take advantage of what the GEM^TM has to offer, we can decrease the amount of waste put into landfills by 95 percent! Not only will that waste not be deposited into the earth’s soil, but we won’t have to transport it anymore (saving emissions from garbage trucks) and we can actually turn it into something valuable – energy. By turning a waste into energy, the GEM^TM creates demand for a never-ending source that can suddenly be the solution to our energy dependence problems.

29.     Does the GEM^TM require much maintenance?  What happens if there is a system failure?  

The GEM^TM requires very little maintenance.  The GEM^TM has gone through extensive development and testing cycles to ensure that it functions optimally across a range parameters. However, if a problem is to occur, there will be engineers available to help fix the problem immediately.

30.     What is the difference between past waste-to-energy systems and what the GEM^TM offers today?