History

From its beginning in 1978, the company was active in the exploration and production of oil and gas. In the mid-1980s, Tondu Corporation was one of the early entrants in the emerging independent power industry. Over the next ten years, we developed highly successful, first-of-a-kind independent power plants in the United States and Canada. These projects collectively represent a total investment exceeding $220 million. Each of these was a "first of a kind" project that addressed risks and issues never before faced. In both of these projects, Tondu was the developer as well as the project owner and operator. Tondu's role as developer was to support the Company's long-term objectives as both equity owner and operator. Tondu's historical success has been based on this concept of project development as an integral and supporting function of long-term ownership and operation. For information on our specific projects, see Power Plant Experience.

Current Business Focus

Our current project development business is focused on the development, installation and ownership of integrated gasification combined cycle ("IGCC") power plants that use coal and petroleum coke to generate electricity and other products with minimal environmental impacts. Extensive research was conducted on all gasification technologies, including site visits to commercially operating gasification projects in the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Florida, Indiana, and Tennessee. Gasification offers a clean, ultra-low emissions method for energy conversion.

Tondu has embraced gasification. We have visited gasification and IGCC plants in Belgium, Spain, Germany, Japan, Tennessee, Florida, and Indiana. We have interviewed operators, plant owners, engineers, vendors, contractors, and experts deeply involved with gasification. We have studied the failures and the successes, and analyzed in detail the lessons learned. We have conducted detailed engineering feasibility analysis and developed a reference IGCC plant design. We believe its ultra clean emission performance, high efficiency, ability to capture CO2 in a cost effective fashion, and flexibility will make it the technology of choice for the production of electricity from solid fuels in the future. Our goal is to develop solutions to the challenges facing the deployment of gasification technology and help lead this industry in the coming decade.

Operations

The operations of the company involve seven basic functions

Identifying Investment Opportunities
Our first function is to identify where to invest our resources, and our goal is to be ahead of the crowd and leave when they arrive. Identifying new investment areas is a continual core function and it is one of our competitive advantages.

Business Research
After an idea has been identified, it must be understood. This requires extensive research into the industry fundamentals, assumptions, history, competitive structure, and current dynamics.

Due Diligence
Where research strives for understanding, due diligence looks for truth. The information about each venture and the people involved must be independently verified.

Investment
We invest our capital and raise capital from third-parties who invest with us.

Documentation
An important aspect of each of our transactions is insuring that the supporting documentation has been properly completed and direct the documentation of our transactions.

Assembling Development Teams
The implementation of a successful business requires a development team composed of people who know how to get it done, whatever it might be. Tondu has extensive experience building business development teams.

Managing Our Investments
After an investment has been made, it must be managed. As the investments mature, our final management responsibility is to maximize our returns. Whether an investment is harvested or exited depends on the current situation and the dynamics of the investment.

Organization

We are professionals with substantial hands-on experience in business development, marketing, investing, contract documentation, engineering, finance, and operations management. We work in teams contributing our particular expertise to the total effort. In addition, we have a trusted group of associated organizations and individuals including engineers, lawyers, technical specialists and experts who are more than consultants; they are part of our team. Each business development effort or investment is unique, with different challenges and opportunities. The team format allows us the flexibility to call upon the expertise needed to meet the ongoing challenges; such as engineers skilled in the target technology, lawyers specialized in finance and contract documentation, experts in environmental permitting and public relations, and people with the proven ability to identify, train and direct the people needed to operate and maintain our facilities to the highest standards. In an ever changing world, our highly adaptive organization structure leverages our abilities, greatly enhances our technical capabilities, and supports the agility required to capitalize on project development opportunities.