Chemrec names former Siemens President LeBlanc new CEO

Chemrec AB has named Richard J. LeBlanc of Libertyville as CEO of the Sweden-based biofuels innovation company, and as CEO of its new U.S. subsidiary, Chemrec USA Inc., headquartered in Deerfield.

LeBlanc will be responsible for building the North America and Asia-Pacific markets for Chemrec USA's patented "black liquor" gasification biorefinery technology. He formerly was a senior executive with Siemens AG in the USA, where he was head of the HVAC Products division and president of the Building Automation division of Siemens Building Technologies. Black liquor is a waste stream of pulp and paper milling. The process transforms this waste into ultraclean alternative motor fuels methanol and dimethyl ether or DME. Because the farmed forestry used by the mills is a renewable resource, the DME fuel produced through the Chemrec process is carbon neutral.

LeBlanc, 57, brings to Chemrec USA extensive general management experience growing high-tech companies, commercialization of innovative technologies and building world-class management teams. During his career with Siemens, he directed product development, manufacturing and distribution for the company's broad range of building control products for the North American, Asian-Pacific and Latin American markets. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from University of Toronto. He is a professional engineer in both Canada and the U.S. and holds a certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

DME, often used as an aerosol propellant, when used as motor fuel offers superior alternatives - little to no climate impact, greater energy efficiency, greater land use efficiency, easy vehicle adaptation and competitive fuel costs - than do ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, and synthetic diesel or their combinations.

When used in slightly modified diesel engines, DME offers smokeless combustion and far lower emissions than standard automotive fuels. Major diesel and truck engine manufacturers have plans for using DME in vehicles, especially for municipal and corporate fleets.

Aside from its ability to replace a significant portion of petroleum-based fuels and its neutral impact on the environment, DME fuels produced through a Chemrec biorefinery enable paper mills to generate a high-margin revenue stream from black liquor waste.

Chemrec currently operates fuels-from-the-forest DME biorefineries in Sweden and Michigan.