Syntholene Energy: KBR Report Supports Potential for US$1.75/kg Hydrogen from Geothermal-SOEC Platform

TSXV: ESAF | FSE: 3DD0 | OTCQB: SYNTF

Overview

Syntholene Energy Corp. (TSXV: ESAF) (FSE: 3DD0) (OTCQB: SYNTF) announced on July 9, 2026, an independent technical and economic review evaluating the company's geothermal-integrated hydrogen production platform and its potential application to low-carbon fuels, including synthetic sustainable aviation fuel ("eSAF").

Kellogg Brown and Root LLC ("KBR") (NYSE: KBR) was engaged by the company to provide an analysis and opinion of a high level technical and cost review of the company's hydrogen technology that can be applied to eSAF deployments (the "Report"). According to the company, KBR concluded that Syntholene's likely levelized cost of hydrogen ("LCOH") is approximately US$1.75/kg H2 under best-case Iceland geothermal scenarios and approximately US$2.10/kg H2 under broad deployment.

Key Highlights

• KBR's Report concluded that Syntholene's likely LCOH is approximately US$1.75/kg H2 under best-case Iceland geothermal scenarios and approximately US$2.10/kg H2 under broad deployment.
• Recent unsubsidized estimates of comparable green hydrogen price averages across Europe were approximately €6.71/kg H2 (US$7.66), according to the European Hydrogen Observatory (EHO), as cited by the company.
• The company states that Syntholene's LCOH target is lower than the most recent regionally comparable European benchmark for unabated fossil hydrogen produced with traditional Steam Methane Reforming ("SMR"), which the EHO stated averaged approximately €3.33/kg H2 (US$3.80); including the current European Carbon Price (ETS), the company states this SMR benchmark increases to approximately €4.12/kg H2 (US$4.70).
• Syntholene's LCOH estimate was based on a 1,200 kW size with US$1.2 million of capital expenditures and an assumed electricity price of US$30/MWh.
• The Report identifies potential technical and commercial differentiators including integration of low-carbon geothermal electricity and thermal energy; reduced electrical intensity through SOEC operation and heat recovery; integration advantages with eSAF configurations; mitigation strategies for geothermal silica scaling; and extension of SOEC stack operating life through a dynamic AC:DC operation approach.
• The review states that successful operation at Syntholene's demonstration facility in Húsavík, Iceland (the "Demonstration Facility") would provide key operating data related to efficiency, thermal integration, reliability, and stack degradation.
• The Report also identifies primary risks, including electricity price variability, long-duration SOEC degradation, stack life assumptions, project-specific capital cost, and operating cost validation.
• KBR was engaged as an independent third-party technical consultant and was paid a fixed fee for its assessment. KBR did not receive any securities of the company as compensation for its services.

Strategic and Operational Context

The company states that the findings in the Report are based on a number of key assumptions using modelling and sensitivity analysis rather than commercial operating data or executed contracts. These assumptions include the company's access to advantaged geothermal resources and successful thermal integration. The company notes that hydrogen is the dominant cost in synthetic aviation fuel production and that generating it at low cost is central to achieving cost-competitive synthetic fuel.

"Syntholene's core thesis is that low-cost synthetic fuel production starts with low-cost clean hydrogen, and that the lowest-cost clean hydrogen will come from systems that intelligently use both electricity and heat," said Dan Sutton, Chief Executive Officer of Syntholene. "The report identifies the major cost drivers, validates the importance of our now-operating Húsavík Demonstration Facility, and reinforces why geothermal colocation can be a structural advantage in synthetic fuel production."

Resources and Financials

• LCOH (best-case Iceland geothermal scenarios): approximately US$1.75/kg H2
• LCOH (broad deployment): approximately US$2.10/kg H2
• LCOH estimate basis: 1,200 kW size; US$1.2 million capital expenditures; assumed electricity price of US$30/MWh
• European unsubsidized green hydrogen average (EHO, as cited): approximately €6.71/kg H2 (US$7.66)
• European SMR fossil hydrogen benchmark (EHO, as cited): approximately €3.33/kg H2 (US$3.80)
• SMR benchmark including European Carbon Price (ETS, as cited): approximately €4.12/kg H2 (US$4.70)

What to Watch Next

• The company states that successful operation at the Húsavík Demonstration Facility is expected to provide key operating data related to efficiency, thermal integration, reliability, and stack degradation.
• Parties interested in receiving a copy of the Report may contact the company at comms@syntholene.com.

About Syntholene

Syntholene is actively commercializing its novel Hybrid Thermal Production System for low-cost clean fuel synthesis. The target output is ultrapure synthetic jet fuel, which the Company seeks to manufacture at 70% lower cost than the nearest competing technology today. The Company's mission is to deliver the world's first truly high-performance, low-cost, and carbon-neutral synthetic fuel at an industrial scale, unlocking the potential to produce clean synthetic fuel at lower cost than fossil fuels, for the first time.

Syntholene operates the world's first geothermally-integrated high temperature electrolysis demonstration facility in Husavik, Iceland.

Founded by experienced operators across advanced energy infrastructure, nuclear technology, low-emissions steel refining, process engineering, and capital markets, Syntholene aims to be the first team to deliver a scalable modular production platform for cost-competitive synthetic fuel, thus accelerating the commercialization of carbon-neutral eFuels across global markets.

Read full press release here.

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