Oberon Fuels taps Cinch Munson as VP of Commercial Development
Written on: July 14, 2021 by ICM
Oberon Fuels, maker of renewable dimethyl ether (rDME) fuel, has announced that long-time propane industry executive and advocate Cinch Munson has joined the team as VP of Commercial Development.
Munson most recently served as Senior VP, Business Development, for the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC). During his tenure, he led the propane industry’s growth efforts by leading business development on behalf of the U.S. propane industry through partnerships, market development, product development, and product commercialization.
Cinch Munson
“Oberon Fuels is expanding on multiple fronts right now—from driving sales of rDME as a blending agent for propane users to unlocking the pathway for renewable hydrogen, and Cinch will be at the center of it all,” said Dr. Rebecca Boudreaux, CEO of Oberon Fuels. “From securing feedstock partnerships within the ag industry, to siting our next production facility to building awareness of rDME’s benefits to the global energy industry, Cinch is the perfect fit for this role.”
With an estimated Carbon Intensity (CI) value of -278 according to the California Air Resources Board, and similar handling and storage properties as propane, rDME can be an ideal blending agent to reduce the carbon intensity of propane. It can be produced at or near renewable feedstock sources using Oberon’s modular production technology. Because rDME is compatible with LPG, it requires minimal modifications to the existing global LPG distribution network and workforce, which have been safely handling and transporting similar molecules for more than a century.
“The synergies between rDME and the propane industry are unique, and rDME provides a remarkable pathway to not only further reduce the carbon footprint of today’s propane, but also unlock the future of hydrogen,” said Munson. “rDME is uniquely positioned to decarbonize the transportation sector and beyond.”
Renewable DME can be made from a variety of waste resources, but the most promising and the most scalable sources come from large agricultural resources, specifically around dairy and other livestock operations.
Prior to PERC, Munson spent more than a decade in the agribusiness industry including Director of Market Operations at Mercaris, a provider of market information and trading platforms for certified and identity preserved crops; Manager of Product Quality and Innovation at Oxbow Animal Health; Associate Vice President at Mid-Plains Center for Enterprise; Verified Services Manager at AgInfoLink; and Market Analyst at Cattle-Fax.
Munson earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Cum Laude in Animal Science with an emphasis in Life Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Animal Science with an emphasis in Systems Management and Nutrition from Colorado State University.
“Cinch has been instrumental in the growth of the propane industry through his leadership at PERC and his efforts will continue to benefit our industry,” said Tucker Perkins, President & CEO of PERC. “We look forward to finding new opportunities for the propane industry through collaboration with Cinch and Oberon.”
