Our Why
Synergetic’s mission is to seamlessly transition difficult-to-decarbonize industries to clean fuels. The world will not go from 100 million barrels per day to zero barrels per day in 20 years, or even 100 years. The world’s foremost energy experts agree on that. Other solutions have been suggested, such as, “stop flying”. In 2019, there were 39 million flights. That number is projected to increase to 90 million by 2040. “Stop flying” is a fantasy we cannot afford to rely on.
Synergetic’s transitional solution is net-zero fuels where airline passengers, airlines, and the rest of the supply chain never notice the difference. Fuel costs go down, emissions go to zero, land use for fuel production systems goes to zero, and fuel price volatility becomes a relic of the past. With Synergetic fuel, you can go out and explore this extraordinary planet without shame, without guilt, without breaking the bank, and without emissions.
Our How
The fuels we use today in the global transport system are liquid hydrocarbons that are refined from petroleum: gasoline, aviation fuel, marine shipping fuel, diesel and others. They emit carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas. Liquid transport fuels are indispensable to our modern society, which is why we consume over 4 trillion liters per year, or put another way, 100 million barrels of oil per day.
Synthetic fuels are fuels that are chemically identical to petroleum-based fuels, but synthesize from clean feedstocks, such as air and water, and processed with clean processes, such as using high temperature electrolysis to make green hydrogen, and most importantly, get their carbon from CO2 which is mined from the atmosphere, through a process called carbon capture and utilization. One of the outputs is Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, cheaper than oil-based aviation fuel.
Fuel synthesis technology has been around for over 100 years. It required a lot of dirty energy to make synthetic fuel, and that is the main reason why synthetic fuel has never been in broad use. Synergetic has designed synthetic fuel production systems that use clean, low-cost energy that output carbon-neutral fuels, like SAF, at industrial scale—scalable enough to displace 100 million barrels per day—with virtually no land footprint. These fuels will fuel the global transport system with net-zero emissions.
Synergetic Management
The Synergetic team brings together world-leading experts from various different industrial disciplines, including: shipbuilding, chemical processing, project management and systems integration, aviation, geothermal energy, nuclear energy, marine law and assurance, project finance and others.
Eric Ingersoll is a strategic advisor and entrepreneur with deep experience in the commercialization of new energy technologies. He has extensive project and policy experience in renewables, energy storage, oil and gas, and nuclear, with a special emphasis on advanced nuclear technologies.
Eric is also co-founder of LucidCatalyst, an international consulting firm specializing in the clean energy transition, and has led teams in completing an array of projects related to regulatory, financing, and project delivery barriers in the nuclear sector for a variety of clients, including government agencies in the US and abroad. Eric was on the study team for MIT’s Study: The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World, and a principal author of ETI’s Nuclear Cost Drivers Report. He leads multiple decarbonization modeling efforts, and advises governments and private sector on electricity and fuels applications of advanced nuclear and fusion energy systems.
Eric is also co-founder of TerraPraxis, a non-profit organization focused on action for climate and prosperity. Its focus is on enabling high-impact rapid transitions for neglected parts of the decarbonization challenge.
Prior to LucidCatalyst, Eric was an interim leader or paid strategic advisor to over 30 startups. He raised over $100 million of private equity for General Compression, of which he was a founder and the lead inventor of the technology. Because of his unique strategic vision, focus on addressing climate change, and experience developing and commercializing new technologies, Eric was a member of the renewable energy advisory group of the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP), and was honored at the White House as a Champion of Change in Renewable Energy.
Kirsty Gogan is co-founder and managing director of Synergetic. She is also co-founder and Managing Director of TerraPraxis, a non-profit designing scalable climate solution and managing partner of LucidCatalyst, a highly specialized international consultancy focused on large-scale, affordable, market-based decarbonization of the global economy. Kirsty is an internationally recognized leader in the design and deployment of scalable strategies for nuclear innovation to address global climate and energy needs.
Kirsty is a member of the UK Government’s Nuclear Innovation Research and Advisory Board (NIRAB) Cost Reduction Working Group, and serves on the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee to identify opportunities and barriers to the commercialization of new and advanced nuclear energy technologies over the next 30 years. She is also a board member of the US non-profit organisation, Nuclear Innovation Alliance and the UK-representative for the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Applications (SAGNA).
Watch Bloomberg New Energy Finance founder, Michael Liebreich interview Kirsty at Cleaning Up – Leadership in an age of climate change.
Canon Bryan is a financial professional with over 25 years of experience in various aspects of the finance industry. Mr. Bryan has experience as a buy-side analyst, entrepreneur and financial executive. He co-founded and has been involved with the listing of two successful companies onto public stock exchanges in North America since 2004. He has contracted with many public and private companies, performing a wide variety of finance-related functions, including public company financial reporting, management reporting, full-cycle accounting, financial planning and analysis, economic modeling, corporate development strategies, technical writing, project management, and others. He has had exposure to the following industries: energy, natural resources, biotechnology, real estate development and others.
Mr. Bryan was a founding shareholder in the following companies: Terrestrial Energy, since 2012, where he serves as chief financial officer. Is the global leader in commercial advanced nuclear power plant development. NioCorp Developments (NB: TSXV) in October 2009. NioCorp is developing the largest and richest niobium deposit in North America, which has a projected NPB of over $2.5 billion. Uranium Energy Corp (UEC: NYSE) in August 2004, where he served as VP Corporate Development until October 2007. UEC is the largest uranium mining company in the USA. Mr. Bryan was a senior financial analyst for Lasik Vision Corporation (LSK: CDNX), which was the world’s largest provider of laser refractive surgical services. He has also served as chief financial officer, and on boards of directors, for private and public companies and non-profits in Canada and the USA. Mr. Bryan sits on the CFO Task Force of the UN Global Compact. Mr. Bryan completed his professional studies in accounting with the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada; he is not designated.
Hee Yong LEE worked at Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for over 40 years, during which time he served as executive vice president and chief nuclear officer, among other roles. In his career, he has demonstrated the ability to lead diverse teams of professionals to new levels of success in the civil nuclear power industry. Mr. Lee has strong technical and business qualifications with an impressive track record of hands-on experience in strategic planning, international business development, project management, and corporate strategies regarding the Korean export of nuclear power plants. He has worked as a member of the Committee for Nuclear Power of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) for three years and is currently co-CEO of JEIL Partners, a Seoul-based firm which provides energy business consulting services.
Jens Thordarson was Chief Operating Officer of Icelandair from 2018 to 2021, after having served as VP Technical Operations at Icelandair since October 2011. He has worked at the Company since 2006, first as an assistant to the Managing Director of ITS, a subsidiary of Icelandair. After that he was Director of Finance and Resources at Icelandair’s Technical Division from 2007 to 2010 before he became Head of the Materials and Procurement department. Jens is an Industrial Engineer and holds an M.Sc. Degree from the University of Iceland.
Chuck Peterson is a highly regarded international nuclear power industry expert with world renown expertise in handling complex legal negotiations, deal-making advisory capabilities and experience closing multi-billion dollar transactions involving the building of new nuclear power plants. Mr. Peterson previously worked at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP for seventeen years, serving as a partner and Head of the International Energy Practice. He was also a former NRC Licensed Senior Reactor Operator and a licensed nuclear power plant shift supervisor. Mr. Peterson earned both a JD at Stanford Law School and an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to that Mr. Peterson attended the US Naval Academy where he earned his BS in Naval Science and Operational Studies.
Mr. Seth Grae is the President and CEO of Lightbridge, where he leads Lightbridge’s efforts to develop and deploy advanced nuclear reactor fuel that will result in more electricity being provided from existing and new reactors, as well as enhanced safety and proliferation resistance, to allow nuclear power to compete and grow internationally as a non-emitting source of base load electricity. Lightbridge has also advised governments of countries seeking to start nuclear power programs from feasibility studies through procurement and operations. Lightbridge’s first major international engagement was to develop the strategic plan – the Roadmap for Success – for commercial nuclear energy for the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Grae is a member of the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and is a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Board of Directors. He is a member of the Nuclear Security Working Group, Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition, Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs of the Council on Strategic Risks, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Washington College of Law at American University. He has served as Vice Chair of the Governing Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Lawyers Alliance for World Security, and as Co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Arms Control & Disarmament. Mr. Grae earned a B.A. (cum laude) from Brandies University; and MBA and an LLM in international law from Georgetown University; and a JD from American University.
Kate SEO founded JEIL Partners in 2015 to develop overseas renewable energy projects in the USA, the UK, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and India. Before founding JEIL Partners, Ms. Seo worked in communications, marketing and public relations for twenty years. Her overseas nuclear project marketing has been done in collaboration with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and the Korea Nuclear Association for International Cooperation (KNA). She has succeeded in creating unique and impressive works for the public and global nuclear families. Ms. Seo published KEPCO Nuclear News, which was a bimonthly magazine to inform overseas readers about the nuclear export promoting activities of the Korean nuclear industry. She provides strategic consulting on the nuclear export business to Korean think tanks and is now co-CEO of JEIL Partners.
John Kutsch is the VP of RD&D for SYNERGETIC and leads the integration of the many discrete systems into a complete unified, optimized and refined system for economic and rapid construction and operation.
Mr. Kutsch has been President of Whole World LLC, a design engineering company, and Executive Director and President of Thorium Energy Alliance, a 501c3 Research Non-profit. Thorium Energy Alliance is The world leader in promoting industrial material uses for thorium beyond the core use as a fuel. These organizations have been a partner to SYNERGETIC and have co-developed hydrocarbon free hydrogen, ammonia and steel plans.
Mr. Kutsch has managed green energy research projects for Xcel Energy, in conjunction with NREL. He has led Plant and Equipment Optimization and integration programs for a consortium of ADM, Marathon Oil, North Development’s advanced-design Ethanol facility. The facility successfully integrated discrete systems and new standard operating procedures and new approaches to create the first closed loop, circular, ethanol energy system, greatly increasing operating efficiencies while eliminating nearly all waste streams.
While performing RD&D functions for Terrestrial Energy USA, Mr. Kutsch led programs on Molten Salt Nuclear Process Heat, techno-economic analysis of nuclear hydrogen, nuclear liquid fuels, and nuclear heat derived ammonia with Idaho National Laboratory. Mr. Kutsch was led P.I. for the commercialization study of a sulfur acid hydrogen project with INL, Sandia Labs and Southern Company. He has helped manage nuclear fuel salts characterization studies at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin Madison.
He was a founder of Terrestrial Energy Inc in Canada and developed the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) and all supporting facilities designs. This work resulted in 4 patents for Terrestrial Energy, spanning novel pumps, to the first novel salt storage process in over 40 years.
He assisted in performance modeling of the IMSR and all nuclear island and balance-of-plant systems, including process heat specific applications, as well as defining requirements and properties that all Generation-IV MSR systems must have.
This Genereation-IV definition work was carried on by Thorium Energy Alliance (TEA) as a public service benefiting the field of innovative molten salt reactor technology. TEA has been the main supporter of, and has successfully managed the American Nuclear Society ANS 20.2 Definition Writing Program to define Molten Salt Reactors and their Design and Safety Requirements. The ANS 20.2 draft has been finalized and is in the process of final balloting before being presented to AMSE to be codified into an international standard.
Mr. Kutsch has worked on critical materials supply chains, advanced nuclear issues and various industrial projects with stakeholders for over 20 years. He believes that industries can work cooperatively to achieve huge gains in efficiency and provide the world with sustainable abundance and prosperity.
Synergetic Supply Chain Partners
Critical to Synergetic’s success is its robust supply chain engagement. Synergetic has partnered with the largest and most capable industrials in global commercial supply chain manufacturing and engineering today. All of Synergetic’s technology, componentry and facilities utilize existing and well-established supply chains, but for new applications. Here is a list of our supply chain partners.
JEIL Partners
jeilpartners.comSynergetic Customers
The world must transition seamlessly from 100 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day to 0 barrels of oil-equivalent per day, without emissions, without any disruption to consumer behavior, without destroying the natural environment, and without any green premiums.
Synergetic’s industrial customers are ultimately the organizations that deliver fuels to end-user consumers. They are the ones who must deliver on their Net Zero pledges somehow. Synergetic provides these industrial organizations with the solutions they need to make that clean and just transition, while using existing infrastructure, or even with stranded assets. These large industrial organizations call upon Synergetic because there are very few other solutions that work at this immense scale, without compromising earnings, or without drastic upheaval to their business. Here is where Synergetic currently operates.
Memberships
Synergetic is active in the industries in which it participates. It also actively participates in the clean energy policy dialogue globally. Synergetic is proud to call itself a member of:
Global Zero
Visit SiteOur Markets
Synergetic is a fuel production company. It operates in difficult-to-decarbonize segments of the global economy, principally aviation and marine shipping, with other potential markets including rail and autos.
In 2019, the global merchant shipping fleet consisted of nearly 56,000 vessels, carrying approximately 11 billion metric tonnes of cargo. This does not include over 4,400 passenger vessels, over 3,300 military vessels, nor the global fleet of 30 million pleasure craft. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) projects that marine shipping activity will increase up to 250% by 2050 from 2019 levels. The industry consumed approximately 270 billion liters of liquid fuels in 2019.
The aviation industry is a significant emitter of CO2 and has very few viable non-emitting alternatives, even in the long-term. The global aviation industry consumed over 360 billion liters of liquid fuel in 2019, and has been growing every year since 2009. This consumption was comprised of a global fleet of 26,000 civilian aircraft, and 23,000 military aircraft, which flew over 38 million flights in 2019, carrying nearly 4.5 billion passengers. Aviation demand is also set to expand immensely as air travel continues to become more accessible to new segments of the global population. Demand for jet fuel is projected to double by 2050, according to estimates by the United States Department of Energy (USDOE), with most of the demand growth coming from non-OECD member nations. If true, jet fuel demand could be over 700 billion liters per year by 2050.
Over 97% of all aviation fuel is produced from a fossil fuel base. The small balance of the production – approximately 10 billion liters per year – comes from synthetic fuel production, at very high cost. Other alternatives for fossil fuel-based aviation fuel include electrified aircraft and hydrogen fuel cell-powered or hydrogen fuel-powered aircraft. These technologiy alternatives have not enjoyed broad adoption throughout the aviation industry to-date, or have to-date displayed a lack of commercialization or low technological readiness. In the case of electrified aircraft, unless there is an unforeseen revolution in energy storage technology, it appears unlikely that this will ever become a commercial reality for anything other than very short-haul flights for very small passenger aircraft.
ESG
Synergetic is a proud signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Synergetic has committed itself, along with thousands of other organizations around the world, to aligning its business practices with universal principals on human rights, labour, the environment and corporate corruption.
Net Zero Fuels are sustainable. Net Zero Fuels address 13 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. Please see below to read about how Net Zero Fuels addresses each of these 13 SDGs.
Synergetic delivers clean, affordable energy, which reduces poverty.
Synergetic fuels do not emit pollutants such as SOx or PM2.5,which globally cause an estimated 7 to 13 million premature deaths annually.
Synergetic fuels will be low-cost and emission-free.
Growth need not be constrained with Synergetic fuels because they are carbon-neutral.
Synergetic fuels can be used to power industrial facilities and other infrastructure.
An abundance of Synergeticfuels can allow countries to have greater control over their energy supply.
Since Synergetic fuel costs are low and will not fluctuate, low-income households are protected from market volatility and price shocks.
Synergetic fuels can help cities and communities achieve their net-zero goals by providing net-zero fuels for transport and industry.
Neither production nor consumption of Synergetic fuels will add to global emissions. Nor will they emit dangerous pollutants such as SOx or PM2.5, which globally cause an estimated 7 to 13 million premature deaths annually
Synergetic fuel production compliments other pathways for decarbonizing transport and industry.
Synergetic fuel consumption will not add to global CO2 emissions, hence allowing dangerous acidification of oceans to be halted and reversed. This, in turn, will alleviate pressure on oceanic life suffering from the effects of acidification.
Synergetic fuels will obviate the need for off-shore drilling for oil, which can cause disruption in oceanic ecosystems.
Synergetic fuels used in marine shipping will not pollute oceanic ecosystems with SOx, PM2.5 and other pollutants.
Production of Synergetic fuels will take place on floating platforms, obviating the need for industrial development on land.
The development of national nuclear power programs plays a key role in the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty undertake to not pursue a nuclear weapons program and nuclear techniques can also help enhance security in other fields.
Strong partnerships between the nuclear-related industries andother stakeholders enables nuclear technologies to contribute to meeting the SDGs.
