The unanimously approved move expands SES’ board from seven to eight members and is expected to strengthen the Houston-based company’s potential for success in China.

“Dr Yang is an accomplished entrepreneur, business executive and scientist whose deep experience and relationships in China will be invaluable in helping us achieve our financial, business development and commercialization objectives,” SES chairman Lorenzo Lamadrid said.

“I am looking forward to working with SES’ management team and board of directors to help drive thecCompany's success in China.

“I believe SES’ gasification technology is key to the development of China’s abundant, untapped low rank coal resources and will enable the production of clean energy and products while improving the country’s energy security.”

Yang is general manager of the Hongye biomedical division and is the managing partner of Hongye SD Group. He was appointed to the board as a designee of Hongye pursuant to the terms of the share purchase agreement. Hongye received the right to nominate two people to the board for as long as Hongye owned or controlled at least 9% of SES’ common stock.

Yang is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Velox Pharmaceutical and an advisory director of Nanjing Sharelink Capital, a government venture fund company focusing on early stage investment in China.

SES provides technology, equipment and engineering services for the conversion of low-rank, low-cost coal into energy and chemical products.

It has a production facility in China’s Henan province designed to process 2000 tonnes per day of sub-bituminous coal into syngas for downstream chemical and fuel products