The Mintz Energy & Sustainability team served as legal counsel to Oberon Fuels, Inc., a development-stage producer of low carbon, renewable dimethyl ether (rDME) transportation fuel, in the sale of a 39% stake in the company to Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., a nationwide distributor of propane, fuel oil and related products and services. Under the terms of the agreement, Suburban Propane has also committed to provide additional funding to support continued development efforts to begin commercializing a rDME/propane blended product.

California-based Oberon is dedicated to decarbonizing the transportation sector by producing a range of ultra-low-carbon and carbon-negative fuels that are practical, economical, and sustainable alternatives to today’s fossil fuels. Founded in 2010, Oberon focuses in particular on the production of fuel-grade rDME, a clean-burning, non-toxic fuel, from a variety of waste feedstocks, including biogas from animal and food waste. In 2019, the state of California awarded Oberon $2.9 million to upgrade its pilot plant to demonstration scale and produce the first rDME in the United States.

Mintz has represented Oberon in a variety of strategic collaborations and transactions throughout the years, and provides ongoing legal advice on general corporate matters. Specifically, Mintz advised Oberon on its partnership with SHV Energy, a global distributor of propane fuel, to accelerate the use of renewable rDME in order to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuel. Read the Mintz Energy & Sustainability team’s client feature on Oberon, which was published in March 2020.

The Mintz team that advised Oberon was led by Member and Chair of the firm’s Energy & Sustainability Practice Tom Burton and Member Sebastian Lucier, and included Of Counsel Tali Tuchin, and Associates Joshua Summers and Cameron Hagen.

This is the latest in a string of high profile transactions for Mintz’s Energy & Sustainability Practice, including XL Fleet’s proposed merger with Pivotal Investment Corporation II, which valued the combined company at approximately $1 billion. In the technology sector, Mr. Burton recently led the Mintz team that advised XCM Solutions in its sale to Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting North America.