A Richland-based company that developed a way to convert waste to alternate energy sources such as hydrogen has filed for bankruptcy, indicating federal contracts canceled by the Trump administration cost it upward of $50 million in potential revenues.

InEnTec Inc. is seeking to maintain its operations, including paying its 15 employees, as it restructures roughly $40 million in debt through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 

CEO Jeffrey Surma wrote in his declaration to the court the company’s creditors and board members are supportive of the restructuring and “look forward to moving efficiently through this process given that high level of alignment.”

InEnTec was formed in the late 1990s by Surma, who previously worked at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, along with former MIT researcher Daniel Cohn, engineer Charles Titus and Larry Dinkin. 

Surma and Cohn first worked together on a DOE project that constructed an experimental plasma-based waste treatment furnace facility.

The company’s primary focus is on gasification technology, with its patented plasma enhanced melter technology capable of transforming various feedstocks into different products. 

A year ago, InEnTec completed construction of its $8 million Columbia Ridge hydrogen production facility in Arlington, Oregon. It was set to produce between 600 to 1,100 kilograms of hydrogen per day once fully operational, depending on feedstock, enough to power fuel cell vehicles for up to 80,000 miles of travel per day.

“It validates decades of work to advance our technology and demonstrates that waste-to-hydrogen can deliver reliable, low-carbon fuel at scale,” Surma said in a statement at the time.

However, that same year, the Trump administration began canceling contracts and other support for hydrogen technology, such as the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. Among those canceled contracts was one InEnTec had worked on since 2022 with “the world’s largest chemical company” to design a facility for a complex in Texas and would have provided up to $30 million in potential revenue.

Another contract with a U.S.-based chemical company that would have indirectly provided another $20 million in potential revenue also was canceled.

“The company no longer had significant future revenues, eliminating an expected growth trajectory that would otherwise have supported future fundraising,” Surma wrote in his declaration to the court. “Similar setbacks across the broader sector occurred; following the government’s lead, industry participants and investors previously focused on the industry also deprioritized incremental investment in alternative and renewable energy technologies.”

In its filing, InEnTec sought court approval to pay employees, some of whom are owed thousands of dollars in back pay, and maintain utilities so it can continue operations. It also is seeking permission to secure $2 million in financing to stabilize operations.