Phibro
Phibro LLC is a privately held, asset-based low-carbon commodity merchant that combines physical commodity trading with ownership of renewable fuel, clean ammonia, and circular economy (recovered carbon black, used cooking oil) assets, serving agricultural, industrial, and energy customers in the US and China.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1901
- HeadquartersStamford, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Phibro does
Phibro LLC is a privately held, asset-based low-carbon commodity merchant founded in 1901 as Philipp Brothers in Hamburg, Germany, and now headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company combines physical commodity trading with ownership of, and investment in, low-carbon industrial assets across renewable fuels (hydrogen, RNG, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel), clean ammonia/fertilizer, and circular economy operations (recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires, used cooking oil recycling). Its operations are organized through wholly owned subsidiaries including Phibro RenewOil, Phibro rCB, Phibro Biodigester LLC (Utah), Phibro Renewables China Ltd, and Philipp Brothers Fertilizer.
The company monetizes through trading margins on physical commodity flows, returns from long-term asset ownership (notably a $450M-conversion coal gasification plant in West Terre Haute, Indiana for ammonia fertilizer production, and a revived tire recycling facility in Natchez, Mississippi), and project-based contracts with industrial, agricultural, and energy counterparties. Go-to-market is enterprise and direct-sales led, targeting Midwest farmers, rubber/plastics/coatings/ink manufacturers, and aviation/transportation fuel buyers. Distribution leverages owned manufacturing sites, rail partnerships (e.g., Natchez Railway), and nationwide UCO collection logistics.
Phibro is owned by Energy Arbitrage Partners, an employee-owned partnership founded and controlled by CEO Simon Greenshields, who acquired the company in January 2016 after leading Morgan Stanley's commodity business. The senior team is composed predominantly of former Morgan Stanley commodity executives (CFO Joseph Delaney, COO Fabrizio Zichichi). The company is privately held, with no public ticker, no disclosed funding rounds, and a small Stamford corporate team supplemented by approximately 170 production jobs across acquired industrial sites.
Phibro firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Phibro
- Legal name
- Phibro LLC
- Website
- https://phibro.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1901
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Phibro LLC is a privately held, asset-based low-carbon commodity merchant that combines physical commodity trading with ownership of renewable fuel, clean ammonia, and circular economy (recovered carbon black, used cooking oil) assets, serving agricultural, industrial, and energy customers in the US and China.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Phibro is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stamford
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Phibro business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Physical Commodity Trading: Trading of physical commodities including oil and oil products, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), electricity, renewable fuels, fertilizer, coal and emissions. The company leverages market insight and disciplined risk management to capitalize on physical market dislocations.
- Asset Investment and Development: Investment in low-carbon commodity assets and projects through acquisition and development of physical infrastructure, generating returns through asset optimization and associated trading activities.
- Circular Economy Solutions: Revenue from recovered carbon black (rCB) and renewable diesel/SAF production, supplying manufacturers with sustainable alternatives to virgin materials and supporting customer ESG targets.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Phibro product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Phibro is a global low-carbon commodity merchant company focused on the acquisition, development, optimization, and contract structuring of renewable physical commodity assets. The company trades physical commodities including oil, natural gas, NGL, electricity, renewable fuels, fertilizer, coal, and emissions, while operating circular-economy production assets such as recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires, used cooking oil collection for biodiesel feedstock, and ammonia fertilizer manufacturing from repurposed gasification infrastructure. Its offerings target industrial manufacturers, farmers, and energy producers under bespoke contracts.
Product overview
Phibro is a global low-carbon commodity company operating as a commodity merchanting platform focused on physical commodity trading and asset investments. The company combines its core trading operations with a portfolio of specialized subsidiaries and activities: Phibro rCB (recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires) and Phibro RenewOil (used cooking oil collection and recycling) serve circular economy objectives, while power generation includes hydrogen production, renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The company also operates a coal gasification plant converted for ammonia/fertilizer production in Indiana, a tire recycling facility in Mississippi, and maintains subsidiaries Phibro Biodigester LLC (Utah) and Phibro Renewables China Ltd (China). Founded in 1901, Phibro trades across oil, natural gas, NGL, electricity, renewable fuels, fertilizer, coal, and emissions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Phibro RenewOil: Provides nationwide used cooking oil collection and recycling services for restaurants and commercial kitchens, transforming UCO into Biodiesel and renewable fuel
- Phibro rCB
- Phibro Biodigester
- Phibro Renewables China
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces carbon emissions by up to 85% per gallon when using biodiesel from used cooking oil
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Phibro
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Phibro technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Phibro partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Natchez RailwaycorePhibro rCB partnered with Natchez Railway and local stakeholders to reestablish a fully functional rail spur at the Natchez facility. This critical logistical improvement enables efficient shipping and receiving of materials by rail, reducing reliance on trucking and minimizing emissions.
- Delta Energy GroupcoreIn December 2023, Phibro acquired the assets of Delta Energy Group, including a dormant tire recycling facility in Natchez, Mississippi. The acquisition revived the facility and led to the creation of Phibro rCB subsidiary. Delta Energy's former workforce of approximately 70 jobs is being restored.
- Quasar Energy Partners LLCcorePhibro Group partnered with Quasar Energy Partners LLC as a key investor and co-development partner in the coal gasification plant conversion project. Quasar's Managing Partner Nalin Gupta commented on the creative repurposing of existing infrastructure. The partnership was instrumental in acquiring and converting the SG Solutions gasification plant to ammonia fertilizer production.
- SG SolutionsminorSG Solutions sold its gasification plant to Phibro Group. The plant was scheduled to be decommissioned before Phibro acquired it for repurposing into ammonia fertilizer production.
- Wabash Valley Power AssociationminorWabash Valley Power Association owned the adjacent Wabash River Combined Cycle Plant to which the gasification plant previously supplied synthetic gas and steam. The plant was being decommissioned when Phibro acquired the gasification assets.
- Wabash Valley ResourcesminorSimon Greenshields serves as Chairman of Wabash Valley Resources, which is related to the ammonia fertilizer production facility acquired in Indiana. The facility was formerly part of the Wabash Valley Power Association ecosystem.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Phibro competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Castleton Commodities International: Castleton Commodities International (CCI) is a global commodity merchant trading power, natural gas, metals, and soft commodities with growing renewable fuels exposure. It is a direct peer to Phibro as a mid-sized, privately held multi-commodity merchant; COO Fabrizio Zichichi was previously Co-President of Global Oil Liquids at CCI, underscoring the operational comparability.
- Mercuria Energy Trading: Mercuria is one of the world's largest privately held physical commodity traders, active across crude, refined products, natural gas, power, metals, and increasingly renewable fuels and carbon markets. It is directly comparable to Phibro as a private multi-commodity merchant pivoting toward low-carbon energy, with similar GTM via direct B2B relationships with industrial counterparties.
- Gunvor Group: Gunvor is a leading independent commodities trading house with global physical trading in oil, refined products, natural gas, power, and growing biofuels and renewables exposure. Direct peer to Phibro as a privately held physical commodity merchant expanding into low-carbon commodities through asset investment.
- Trafigura: Trafigura is one of the largest physical commodity traders globally, with core franchises in oil and metals plus expanding renewables, hydrogen, and ammonia businesses. It is a direct peer to Phibro as a privately held physical commodity merchant pursuing energy transition asset investments at greater scale.
- Hartree Partners: Hartree Partners is a private commodities-focused merchant and investor across power, natural gas, oil, metals, and environmental markets. It is directly comparable to Phibro as a privately held physical commodity merchant with significant principal capital deployment alongside trading activities.
Broad incumbents
- Vitol: Vitol is the world's largest independent energy commodities trader, with deep franchises across crude, refined products, natural gas, and increasingly renewables, biofuels, and carbon. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Phibro because Phibro competes for the same physical flows, low-carbon counterparties, and asset acquisition opportunities, but operates at a fraction of Vitol's scale.
- Louis Dreyfus Company: Louis Dreyfus Company is a global merchant and processor of agricultural commodities, metals, and more recently energy and renewables. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Phibro through its diversified physical commodity merchant model and growing involvement in renewable feedstocks and low-carbon markets.
- Glencore: Glencore is a major diversified commodity producer and merchant with operations across oil, gas, metals, and agricultural products and an expanding energy transition portfolio. It is a broad incumbent peer to Phibro because both operate physical commodity merchant platforms, though Glencore operates at vastly greater scale and with integrated mining assets.
- Cargill: Cargill is a privately held global commodity merchant and processor with deep agricultural commodity trading operations and growing low-carbon fuels and renewable feedstocks exposure. It is a broad incumbent peer to Phibro through its diversified commodity merchanting model and its push into renewable diesel and sustainable feedstocks.
Regional players
- World Fuel Services: World Fuel Services is a global fuel and energy products marketer focused on aviation, marine, and land transportation fuels with growing renewable and sustainable fuel offerings. It is comparable to Phibro as a B2B energy commodity merchant with renewable fuel exposure, though primarily serves downstream fuel distribution customers rather than running merchanting across oil, gas, and metals.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Phibro social profiles
Digital presencePhibro financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Phibro leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Phibro subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Phibro funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Phibro M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Phibro
What does Phibro do?
Phibro is a global low-carbon commodity merchant company focused on the acquisition, development, optimization, and contract structuring of renewable physical commodity assets. The company trades physical commodities including oil, natural gas, NGL, electricity, renewable fuels, fertilizer, coal, and emissions, while operating circular-economy production assets such as recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires, used cooking oil collection for biodiesel feedstock, and ammonia fertilizer manufacturing from repurposed gasification infrastructure. Its offerings target industrial manufacturers, farmers, and energy producers under bespoke contracts.
Is Phibro a public or private company?
Phibro is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Phibro founded?
Phibro was founded in 1901. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Phibro based?
Phibro is headquartered in Stamford, United States, in the North America region.
How does Phibro make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Physical Commodity Trading is the primary driver. The others are asset Investment and Development and circular Economy Solutions.
Who are Phibro's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Castleton Commodities International, Mercuria Energy Trading, Gunvor Group, Trafigura and Hartree Partners. Broad incumbents are Vitol, Louis Dreyfus Company, Glencore and Cargill. World Fuel Services is listed as a regional player.
Does Phibro have an API?
No public API is recorded for Phibro.