ST. PAUL, Minn. & MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 4, 2025--
Aymium, the leading producer of renewable biocarbon products, announced today the successful completion of a five-year, $150 million financing from a wholly owned subsidiary of Bedrock Industries ManagementCo Inc. The new financing refinances Aymium’s existing debt and adds liquidity to execute the company’s near-term growth initiatives, including development of new biocarbon and biohydrogen production facilities currently under review.
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“We are excited to close this financing with our new partners at Bedrock Industries,” said James Mennell, CEO of Aymium. “The financing provides the company greater financial and operational flexibility, as well as significantly more liquidity which is critical to accelerate Aymium’s growth plan. Moreover, we are excited to work with Alan Kestenbaum and Gaurav Mehta, who bring a wealth of experience and relationships in our core end markets. I am also thrilled to announce that Alan will also be joining Aymium’s Board of Directors.”
Alan Kestenbaum, Bedrock Industries’ Founder, commented, “Bedrock Industries is excited to make this investment in Aymium, a revolutionary company that is changing the way metals, ferroalloys and many other industrial products are produced. Jim Mennell, Doug Rohall and their team have created an unrivalled drop-in solution that provides Aymium’s customers an immediate, economic solution to decarbonization.” Mr. Kestenbaum added, “We believe Jim and his team are just scratching the surface in terms of the positive impact the product portfolio can have on decarbonization. Bedrock is excited to work alongside management to accelerate production of Aymium’s product portfolio for its global customer base, driving the next chapter in the company’s exciting future.”
Aymium produces the only commercially demonstrated carbon-negative product for replacing coal. Aymium’s renewable products are created through a non-combustion process that converts waste biomass to high purity biocarbon. The products are specifically engineered to immediately replace fossil coal without the need for any type of plant investment or process modification. The products have superior energy value, handling, and environmental attributes to coal. Aymium’s process uses third-party certified sustainable waste biomass and is powered by self-generated renewable energy. Aymium’s process and product technologies are protected by more than 600 issued and pending patents. Aymium’s current investors include Sandton Capital, Steel Dynamics (Ticker: STLD), Rio Tinto (Ticker: RIO), Nippon Steel Trading, and Hokuriku Electric Power Company.
Moelis & Company LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Aymium. Mayer Brown LLP served as legal advisor to Aymium. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Bedrock Industries.
About Aymium
Aymium produces high-value biocarbon and biohydrogen products that can be used to immediately replace fossil fuels in the production of energy, metals, crops, and in the purification of water and air with no modifications to equipment or processes. Produced using sustainably sourced biomass – recovered and unusable wood – Aymium’s bioproducts are renewable, carbon-negative and they replace emission-heavy fossil fuels such as coal and coke. Aymium’s leading technology is backed by more than 600 issued or pending patents on a global basis. Aymium operates and is constructing multiple production facilities in North America and is headquartered in Minnesota, USA.
About Bedrock Industries
Bedrock Industries ManagementCo Inc., a privately held investment vehicle, was founded in 2015 to focus on investments across the metals, mining, and natural resources sectors. Bedrock Industries focuses on investing along the broader value chain, from mining and raw materials, smelting, fabrication and value-added products across a wide range of diversified end-markets. Our philosophy is to work together with management teams, workforce, unions, local and national governments and other stakeholders by supporting the corporate strategy with financial capital and operational assistance, as needed, drawing on our vast experience in the industry. Bedrock’s Founder, Mr. Kestenbaum, most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Stelco Holdings, which was sold to Cleveland Cliffs for approximately C$3.4 billion, crystallizing a 32% CAGR for Stelco’s common share investment since its public offering in 2017. Bedrock Industries was founded by Alan Kestenbaum and is supported by Gaurav Mehta, Managing Partner.
Aymium biocarbon production plant under construction in Williams, California, USA. (Photo: Business Wire)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.
In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."
After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.
It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”
Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.
Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.
Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
