Aether Fuels aims for synergy with Sustainable Syngas

Aether Fuels, an advanced climate technology company with offices in San Francisco and Singapore, has acquired Sustainable Syngas LLC (SSG), a Seattle-based company that develops carbon-neutral sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and marine fuel 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 last year 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 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Energy. Their expertise includes project development and management, procurement and contracting, public and government affairs, environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues and stakeholder engagement.

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Aether and SSG began working together in 2022 to develop Aether’s first commercial-scale project. The company says the project will produce sustainable fuels made from flexible combinations of waste biomass, biogenic carbon dioxide and clean hydrogen. Aether’s solution combines novel process flows and plant configurations, proprietary catalysts and breakthrough facilities and equipment to 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,” co-founder and CEO Conor Madigan says. “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,” says Eric Redman, former SSG CEO who is now Aether’s vice president of corporate strategy and government affairs. “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.”

In addition to Redman, joining Aether from SGS are:

• Tauna Rignall who will lead US project development as vice president of project development;
• Brian Norris, who will lead Aethers’ sustainable feedstock supply chain as vice president of strategic procurement;
• Tom Johns, who is directing Aether’s first project, which is underway, as senior director of project development;
• Alyssa Norris, who will lead ESG and stakeholder engagement activities as director of sustainable development; and
• Ralph Epling, who will support contract negotiations with fuel customers as senior advisor. Senior Adviser. Ralph supports contract negotiations with fuel customers.

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.