Rotem Energy Mineral (REM) – Limited Partnership

Rotem Energy Mineral (REM) – Limited Partnership, known in Hebrew as רותם אנרגיה מחצבים (רא"מ) and later branded REM – Reverse Engineered Materials, is an Israeli limited partnership focused on energy and environmental technology. It was established in 2016 by its general partner, Northwood Exploration Israel Ltd, which since 2011 has held the Rotem East oil shale license covering more than 2,900 dunams adjacent to the Mishor Rotem industrial zone in southern Israel. The partnership's units have traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since November 2018, following a capital raise of roughly 28 million shekels. The company's core project is a planned facility at Mishor Rotem that would process a feedstock of about 60% plastic waste (from sorting plants, agriculture and industry) and about 40% oil shale, using SHC (Solid Heat Carrier) pyrolysis technology developed by the Estonian energy company Enefit. The process heats plastic waste and oil shale in an oxygen-free environment, breaking the plastic back down into hydrocarbon vapours that are condensed into crude oil — a form of "reverse engineering" of plastics into their petroleum origins. The planned plant would also include a power station generating electricity from residual heat, a chemicals unit serving downstream and fertilizer industries, and an ash unit producing material for household and industrial uses. According to the company, the facility is intended to recycle about 20% of Israel's plastic waste and to multiply the country's recycling rate roughly fourfold from its current level of about 7%. REM positions itself at the intersection of two growth engines — energy and environment — and frames its project as aligned with European Union waste-to-energy policy. It has pursued cooperation with Enefit and received a preliminary EPC proposal from China's SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co. for design, procurement and construction of the plant, valued at approximately 420 million dollars, alongside a non-binding letter of intent to finance 85% of those works. The partnership has also explored supplying alternative oil to an Israeli oil company and cooperating with I-Storage on a battery energy storage system at the planned site. Leadership includes chairman Dr. Yaakov Mimran, a former Petroleum Commissioner at Israel's Ministry of Energy, and CEO Jack Sebag, with former Knesset member Eitan Cabel among the directors. The partnership has published equal-pay reports and, together with Deloitte, an impact report assessing its potential contribution to waste treatment, public health savings and reduced oil-import spill risk. As of the Wikipedia account, financial close was expected in the first quarter of 2022, construction was planned to begin at the end of 2022, and commercial operation was anticipated in 2025.

Rotem Energy Mineral (REM) – Limited Partnership was established in 2016 by its general partner, Northwood Exploration Israel Ltd. The general partner was until recently controlled by the Australian Cassella family, which holds a mineral drilling company called Australian Mineral Water Drilling. Since 2011, Northwood Exploration Israel Ltd has held the Rotem East oil shale license in a designated area adjacent to the Mishor Rotem industrial zone, covering more than 2,900 dunams. Mishor Rotem is described as the only place in Israel where oil shale is mined, owing to the quality of the deposit and combined mining of oil shale. In June 2018, an attempt to list the partnership's participation units on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange failed due to low demand. In November 2018, a capital raise of about 28 million shekels was completed (about 5.6 million shekels of which was injected by the general partner), the units were registered for trading on the exchange, and the transfer of rights to the partnership was approved by the Ministry of Energy. Subsequently, the Supervisor of Oil Affairs at the Ministry of Energy declared the oil shale deposit within the license area a discovery, after the partnership's work plan in the license area was approved. In August 2019, Rotem Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the holder of phosphate mining rights for combined mining of oil shale that is a by-product of phosphates in the partnership's discovery area at Mishor Rotem. As of November 2019, the partnership was preparing a plan to build a facility for producing oil and electricity in the Mishor Rotem industrial zone. In December 2019, the partnership completed a fundraising round of about 7.5 million shekels. Financial close for the start of work was expected in the first quarter of 2022, construction of the facility was planned to begin at the end of 2022, and the start of commercial activity was expected in 2025. In December 2020, the partnership completed a private placement to several institutional bodies of about 6.1 million shekels. The partnership's chairman is Dr. Yaakov Mimran, formerly the Supervisor of Oil Affairs at the Ministry of Energy, and its CEO is Jack Sebag. Former Knesset member Eitan Cabel is among the directors. On 31 May 2021, the Southern District Committee approved the partnership's request to advance the project as planned, subject to a stringent environmental survey. In August 2021, the partnership announced that SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co, a company incorporated under the laws of China with international experience in planning and building energy projects, had submitted a preliminary EPC proposal for design, procurement and construction of the facility to recycle and recover energy from plastic waste by converting it into oil and electricity using oil shale. The proposal included a technical proposal for all plant units, and the construction contractor submitted a non-binding letter of intent to finance 85% of the cost of the EPC works. The stated consideration in the preliminary EPC proposal was approximately 420 million dollars. In October 2021, the partnership announced a significant technological improvement to the facility together with the global company Enefit, which would allow a reduction of about 25% in oil shale feed and a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The amount of oil shale would be reduced by about 25% (equivalent to about 450,000 tons). The move was part of the company's effort to operate according to the highest environmental standards. In February 2022, the partnership announced it had signed a letter of intent with an Israeli company active in the oil sector, under which the parties would examine the possibility of entering into an agreement in which the partnership would supply the customer with alternative oil produced at the company's facility. In August 2022, the company announced it was examining the possibility of cooperation to establish a battery energy storage system at the site of the facility the partnership plans to build at Mishor Rotem, in cooperation with I-Storage. The technology uses SHC (Solid Heat Carrier), a hot solid stream based on pyrolysis of plastic waste with oil shale. The technology, developed by Enefit, enables recycling of plastic waste that until now could not be recycled conventionally. The plastic waste is residue from sorting facilities, agricultural plastic waste and industrial plastic waste that until now was destined for landfill. After drying and shredding, the plastic waste is fed together with oil shale and a hot solid stream into the pyrolysis reactor in an inert environment (without oxygen). In this process, organic material is decomposed by heating to a high temperature without oxygen (unlike combustion), which allows the facility to meet the strictest European standard for pollutants (BREF). As a result of the chemical reaction, the plastic waste turns into hydrocarbon vapours. The vapours undergo condensation and turn back into crude oil. Pyrolysis is a thermal decomposition process of organic materials under conditions of absence of oxygen in an inert environment. Pyrolysis of plastic waste enables "reverse engineering" – returning plastic to the sources from which it was created: oil and gas. The absence of oxygen in the process reduces the extent of pollutant emissions. The planned facility will also include a power station to generate electricity from residual heat produced in the cogeneration process, a chemicals production unit for downstream industries and the fertilizer industry, and an ash production unit for household uses (including cat litter) and industry. During 2021–2022, the partnership conducted an impact report together with Deloitte. The partnership examined the impact of its activity on three measures: assessment of the contribution of the partnership's activity to waste treatment and savings in landfill sites and land in southern Israel — it found that cumulative treatment of 6.8–7.3 million tons of plastic waste by 2050 could reduce the weight of waste landfilled in the southern region by 6–9% and the volume of waste landfilled in the southern region by 13–22%; in a low scenario the project is expected to prevent the need to establish 1.7 landfills and 19,100 dunams, and in a high scenario 2.7 landfills and 30,600 dunams. Assessment of the potential contribution of the partnership's activity to saving public expenditure on public health — the report's findings show that the expected annual emissions savings from the activity are estimated at about 4,077 tons of pollutants, of which about 99.6% are air pollutants; as a result, the facility's activity is expected to save the health system between 200 million shekels per year and up to 400 million shekels in the high scenario. Assessment of the contribution of the partnership's activity to reducing oil spill incidents resulting from oil imports to Israel — establishment of the facility may reduce the frequency of incidents in which a significant amount of oil leaked as a result of oil imports to Israel by about 2.7–4.3%; the amount of oil whose spill would be avoided is estimated at about 438,000 to about 698,000 tons. Oil shale reserves in the Rotem East discovery area are estimated at about 245 million tons, from which about 135 million barrels of oil can be produced, which would increase Israel's oil production and reduce dependence on oil imports from foreign countries. Rotem Energy Mineral intends to build a facility at Mishor Rotem to produce oil and…

• 2022

  February: letter of intent signed with an Israeli oil company for supply of alternative oil. August: examination of cooperation with I-Storage on a battery energy storage system at the planned site.

• 2021

  May: Southern District Committee approves advancing the project subject to a stringent environmental survey. August: SEPCOIII submits a preliminary EPC proposal valued at about 420 million dollars. October: technological improvement with Enefit reduces oil shale feed by about 25%.

• 2020

  December: private placement to institutional bodies of about 6.1 million shekels completed.

• 2019

  August: memorandum of understanding signed for combined mining of oil shale as a by-product of phosphates. December: fundraising round of about 7.5 million shekels completed.

• 2018

  June: an attempted listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange fails due to low demand. November: a capital raise of about 28 million shekels is completed and units are registered for trading on the TASE.

• 2016

  Rotem Energy Mineral (REM) – Limited Partnership is established by its general partner, Northwood Exploration Israel Ltd.

• 2011

  Northwood Exploration Israel Ltd acquires the Rotem East oil shale license covering over 2,900 dunams near Mishor Rotem.

Energy and environment technology partnership bringing EU-aligned waste-to-energy solutions to Israel, using Enefit's SHC pyrolysis technology.

• Alternative crude oil from plastic waste and oil shale

  Produced via SHC pyrolysis of about 60% plastic waste and 40% oil shale; hydrocarbon vapours are condensed back into crude oil.

• Electricity from cogeneration

  The planned facility includes a power station generating electricity from residual heat produced in the process.

• Chemicals for downstream and fertilizer industries

  A chemicals production unit is planned for downstream industries and the fertilizer industry.

• Ash for household and industrial uses

  An ash production unit is planned for household uses (including cat litter) and industry.

1. 1רא"מ REM - רותם אנרגיהrem-materials.com
2. 2Rotem Energy Mineral (Rem)- Limited Partnership – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3רותם אנרגיה מחצבים – Wikipedia (Hebrew)he.wikipedia.org