Clean Energy's New COO to Drive AI-Powered Efficiency and Growth

NEWPORT BEACH, CA – June 23, 2026 – Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) has appointed veteran insider Bart Frabotta as its new Chief Operating Officer, a move that signals a significant strategic pivot for the nation's largest provider of renewable natural gas (RNG). Frabotta is tasked with a challenging dual mandate: slash operational costs while simultaneously accelerating growth, with a heavy reliance on artificial intelligence to redefine efficiency across the company's vast network. The appointment places a seasoned operator with deep IT roots at the helm of the company's physical and digital infrastructure at a critical juncture for both the firm and the burgeoning alternative fuels industry.

"I will look to Bart to take the lead in two of my top priorities – becoming a technology-forward company implementing all the advantages AI has to offer, and making Clean Energy a low-cost company while still accelerating growth," said Clay Corbus, President and CEO of Clean Energy. This directive sets a clear and demanding course for Frabotta as he takes control of operations spanning RNG production, engineering, and a continent-wide network of fueling stations.

The Dual Mandate: Balancing Growth and Austerity

The urgency behind Frabotta's dual mandate is rooted in the company's financial landscape. While Clean Energy Fuels reported a strong 13.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $117.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, its path to consistent profitability remains a key strategic focus. The company significantly narrowed its GAAP net loss to $(12.4) million from a staggering $(135.0) million in the prior-year quarter, a figure that was heavily skewed by non-cash impairments. This improvement, along with an adjusted EBITDA of $16.6 million, points toward operational stabilization.

However, the pressure to become a "low-cost company" is persistent. The firm's gross margin, while improving, still lags the broader industry median. Furthermore, a non-cash warrant charge related to a major agreement with Amazon is expected to be a $47 million drag on reported revenue for the full year, complicating the path to GAAP profitability, which analysts don't project until 2028. It is within this complex financial environment that Frabotta must execute his mission. His success will be measured not just in growth metrics like the impressive 33.2% increase in RNG gallons sold in Q1, but in his ability to fundamentally re-engineer the company's cost structure to ensure that growth is both sustainable and profitable.

An Operator for a Tech-Forward Era

Frabotta is no stranger to the inner workings of the company. Having joined in 2010, his career trajectory provides a clear blueprint for the CEO's choice. As the former Group Vice President of Operations, he was already credited by Corbus with driving "meaningful change in reliability, efficiency, and cost structure across our station network." This track record of tangible results in the very areas he is now tasked to oversee on a larger scale suggests a high degree of confidence from the executive suite.

What makes Frabotta a particularly strategic choice for this moment is his dual fluency in operations and technology. Before leading the operations group, he served as the company's Vice President of Information Technology. His earlier career includes CIO roles at Watt Companies and Westfield, giving him executive-level experience in developing and executing complex IT strategies. This deep-seated tech background is a critical asset as Clean Energy bets heavily on AI as a primary lever for transformation. He is not an operator being asked to learn technology; he is a technologist who has mastered operations, making him uniquely qualified to integrate advanced digital tools into the company's physical asset base.

AI as the Engine for Operational Excellence

The directive for Clean Energy to become a "technology-forward company" is more than just corporate jargon; it's a strategic imperative. Under Frabotta's leadership, AI is expected to be woven into the fabric of the company's entire operational chain. This extends from optimizing RNG production at dairy farms and landfills to enhancing the efficiency of its vast fueling station network. Potential applications are extensive, drawing from established best practices in the broader energy and logistics sectors.

AI-driven predictive maintenance algorithms could forecast equipment failures at fueling stations and production facilities, reducing downtime and costly emergency repairs. In the supply chain, machine learning models can optimize delivery routes for LNG and compressed RNG, cutting fuel costs and emissions. For RNG production itself, AI can analyze complex biological and chemical data from anaerobic digesters in real-time to maximize methane yield and ensure consistent fuel quality. This move towards data-driven optimization is essential for lowering the per-gallon cost of RNG, a key factor in a competitive market. Interestingly, this AI push comes as the tech industry itself faces scrutiny over the massive energy consumption of data centers. This presents a unique strategic opportunity for Clean Energy, as RNG is being explored as a reliable, sustainable power source for data centers, potentially turning a major energy consumer into a new customer vertical.

Scaling in a Dynamic RNG Market

Frabotta takes the operational reins at a time of explosive growth and intensifying competition in the renewable natural gas market. The sector is projected to swell to nearly $30 billion by 2035, propelled by robust policy support like the federal Renewable Fuel Standard and California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. These programs create valuable environmental credits that make RNG economically attractive, particularly for decarbonizing heavy-duty transportation. The market has responded, with RNG now accounting for an estimated 86% of all on-road fuel used in natural gas vehicles in the U.S.

Clean Energy is actively capitalizing on this trend, recently initiating RNG production at one of the nation's largest dairy farms and expanding its LNG supply into Puerto Rico. However, the market's rapid expansion brings challenges. A surge in new RNG production facilities—130 new sites went online in 2025 alone—has led to a short-term oversupply, putting pressure on the price of environmental credits. To thrive, operators must not only grow but also become ruthlessly efficient. Frabotta's mandate to lower costs while accelerating growth is therefore a direct response to these market dynamics, positioning the company to compete not just on the green credentials of its product, but on the operational and financial strength of its entire enterprise.