Aether Fuels Acquires Sustainable Syngas
Deal brings project development veterans to climate-tech start-up; strengthens team with energy and climate experts
SAN FRANCISCO and SINGAPORE, March 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aether Fuels (Aether), an advanced climate technology company today announced that it has acquired Sustainable Syngas LLC (SSG), a US-based company committed to developing carbon-neutral sustainable aviation and marine fuels projects. The deal merges Aether’s engineering capabilities and fuel-production technology innovations with SSG’s expertise in developing large energy projects. Aether previously engaged SSG as its dedicated project developer for projects in the U.S. The transaction enables Aether to construct its first commercial plant faster, build its project pipeline, and forge key industry partnerships.
SSG was formed in 2022 to develop large-scale biomass gasification projects in the sustainable liquid biofuels sector. The team is comprised of energy and project veterans from Summit Power Group, Enviva, and BP, as well as the USDA Forest Service and the US Department of Energy. Their expertise ranges from project development and management, procurement, and contracting, to public and government affairs, ESG and stakeholder engagement.
Aether and SSG began working together last year to develop Aether’s first commercial-scale project. The project will produce sustainable fuels made from flexible combinations of waste biomass, biogenic CO2, and clean hydrogen. Aether’s solution combines novel process flows and plant configurations, proprietary catalysts, and breakthrough facilities and equipment to dramatically reduce capital costs and the cost of input materials. The model is optimized to mass produce sustainable liquid biofuels with powerful economic advantages.
“With this strategic acquisition, Aether can scale fast with fewer obstacles and greater near-term impact,” said Co-Founder and CEO, Conor Madigan. “It brings skilled experts to our enterprise with vast industry knowledge, rich networks, and extensive experience driving complex energy projects from concept to commercialization. Now, as one cohesive team, we can execute on our project strategy with focus and speed. We are pleased to have our SSG partners become Aether colleagues.”
“We are proud to support Aether’s mission to de-carbonize the aviation and shipping industries,” said Eric Redman, formerly CEO at SSG. “Having scaled many multi-hundred-million-dollar projects over decades, we have learned that a reliable predictor for success is often the innovation engine at the heart of the model. Aether’s solution is disruptive, yet elegant and intuitive, with tremendous promise to make the conversion of sustainable biocarbon into liquid fuels radically more affordable. We are excited to help it deploy at scale.”
Joining Aether from the SSG acquisition are the following executives. Bios may be found at www.aetherfuels.com.
Eric (Ric) Redman: VP of Corporate Strategy and Government Affairs.
Tauna Rignall: VP of Project Development. Tauna will lead US project development activities.
Brian Norris: VP of Strategic Procurement. Brian will lead all activities related to Aether’s sustainable carbon feedstock supply chain.
Tom Johns: Senior Director of Project Development. Tom is directing Aether’s first project which is already underway.
Alyssa Norris: Director of Sustainable Development. Alyssa leads ESG and stakeholder engagement initiatives for all projects.
Ralph Epling: Senior Adviser. Ralph supports contract negotiations with fuel customers.
About Aether Fuels
Aether Fuels is an advanced climate technology company aiming to decarbonize “hard-to-abate” industries like aviation and ocean shipping with breakthrough solutions for producing sustainable fuels that are practical, economical, and scalable. Aether was established in 2022 as a spin-out of Xora Innovation, a deep-tech early-stage investment platform of Temasek. The company is based in the United States and Singapore. For more information, visit www.aetherfuels.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Contact
Genuity PR for Aether Fuels; email: aetherfuels@genuitypr.com
