#148 SAF, Green Hydrogen, Light Reactors | Decarbonizing the Chemical Industry World w/ Trevor Best (Syzygy)

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The chemical industry is ~$4.7t globally. The reason is that nearly everything we use is produced using secondary products that are created from catalyzing raw materials in some way.
This is currently done using combustion (heat) powered reactors, and our guest today is commercializing a new way to do that. A way that is 30x more efficient than cutting-edge combustion reactors.
Co-founder & CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, Trevor Best, joins us to discuss the journey of coming across the technology from a white paper - and then going through the required steps to prove the technology at scale so it can produce at a commercially viable level.
Their tech can be applied to many specific types of reactors. Currently, they have three uses, but down the road, first principles thinking indicates they will be able to build alternatives for many reactors.
They make money by licensing out the IP and selling the reactors which they produce. And this is happening today. They have many outstanding orders for their tech.
Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎
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Topics
*1:30 Trevor's Story
*4:00 What is Photocatalyst
*9:40 The Idea Framework (Tech, Market, Impact)
*12:55 How to Come Up w/ Ideas
*17:30 Their Tech
*24:45 ~5x Reduction in Energy Use
*27:00 Impact on Everyday Life
*29:35 Traction
*32:50 From TRL3 to 8
*36:05 Business Model
*38:42 Fundraising Mistakes & Lessons
*43:15 Culture | Missionaries > Mercenaries

Links
*Trevor Best | https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorwbest/
*Syzygy Plasmonics | https://plasmonics.tech/
*Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners | https://www.next-wavepartners.com/
*Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/
*@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X

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Chapters

1. #148 SAF, Green Hydrogen, Light Reactors | Decarbonizing the Chemical Industry World w/ Trevor Best (Syzygy) (00:00:00)

2. Trevor's Story (00:01:30)

3. What is Photocatalyst (00:04:00)

4. The 80th Idea (00:05:21)

5. The Idea Framework | Tech Comparison, Market, Impact Assessment (00:09:40)

6. How to Come up w/ Ideas (00:12:55)

7. Their Technology | The Catalyst and The Reactor (00:17:30)

8. 4-5x Reduction in Energy Usage (00:24:45)

9. How This Impacts Everyday Life (00:27:00)

10. Traction (00:29:39)

11. From TRL 3 to TRL 8 (00:32:50)

12. Business Model (00:36:05)

13. Fundraising Mistakes & Lessons (00:38:42)

14. Culture | Missionaries vs Mercenaries (00:43:18)