Aether Fuels options 200-acre site in Mississippi for potential liquid-fuel production facility

Photo: Aether Fuels

Aether Fuels, an advanced climate-technology company focused on developing sustainable fuels for the aviation and shipping industries, announced April 13 a real-estate agreement with the Smith County Economic Development District in Mississippi.

The transaction gives Aether the option to purchase a 200-acre site near Taylorsville, Mississippi, as a potential location for a liquid-fuel production facility.

Aether’s sustainable fuels will be made from clean hydrogen combined with sustainable carbon—namely, captured CO2, biogenic waste, or a combination of the two.

Aether’s solution combines novel process flows and plant configurations, as well as proprietary catalysts, and breakthrough facilities and equipment, to dramatically reduce the cost of capital equipment and input materials, according to the company.

The model is optimized to mass-produce sustainable fuels “with powerful economic advantages,” Aether stated.

Aether’s co-Founder and CEO, Conor Madigan, credited Smith County officials and other state and local leaders for advancing their economic-development agenda with a keen focus on sustainable innovation.

“Taylorsville has ready access to sustainable carbon, a superior infrastructure, and a skilled workforce, which are all critical success drivers for our production facility,” he said. “Obtaining the option to purchase the site is an important next step as we continue investigating the ultimate suitability of the site within our overall project pipeline. We appreciate the county and state’s support at this early stage of the process.”

Tauna Rignall, vice president of project development at Aether, said, “We strive to be a preferred partner in developing fully sustainable projects that benefit local communities and support our mission to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries. In Smith County, we see a promising opportunity to utilize local, sustainable carbon in our innovative fuel-production process to eliminate waste, strengthen the local economy, and help mitigate climate change—all at the same time.”

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.