Syntholene Energy Corp Appoints Former CEO of Carbon Engineering and CEO of Captura Corp, Steve Oldham, to Board of Directors

As CEO of Carbon Engineering, Oldham raised over $100 million in financing, and sold the Company to Occidental Petroleum in 2023 at a valuation of $1.6Bn.

Chicago, Illinois–(Newsfile Corp. – December 17, 2025) – SYNTHOLENE ENERGY CORP (TSXV: ESAF) (“Syntholene”), a leader in low-cost synthetic fuel technology, announces the appointment of Steve Oldham, a globally recognized pioneer of carbon management and climate-tech commercialization, to its Board of Directors.

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Mr. Oldham brings more than 30 years of executive leadership across aerospace, carbon removal, and advanced cleantech project deployment. He is best known as the former CEO of Carbon Engineering, one of the world’s most influential direct air capture companies, CEO of Captura Corp, a leading ocean-based carbon removal company, and an executive at MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), where he played a crucial role in growing Canada’s flagship aerospace and robotics programs.

Mr. Oldham’s track record spans scaling hardware-intensive climate technologies from lab stage to global prominence, securing major commercial partnerships, and navigating complex multi-stakeholder environments across industry and government.

Highlights of Steve Oldham’s Career

• CEO, Carbon Engineering – helped establish DAC as a globally viable carbon-removal pathway and raised over $100 million in project and corporate financing. Carbon Engineering was sold to Occidental Petroleum in 2023 at a valuation of $1.6Bn.
• CEO, Captura Corp – advanced novel ocean-based carbon removal technology from research to commercial demonstration, raising over $60M to date.
• Vice President of Strategic Business Development, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) – led divisions responsible for major aerospace, robotics, and satellite programs critical to Canada’s space infrastructure.
• Advisor, board member, and thought-leader across climate-tech, energy transition, and carbon-management sectors.
• Frequently sought by governments, corporates, and multilateral agencies for expertise on carbon removal scale-up, infrastructure deployment, and climate-policy design.

“Steve is one of the most impactful advanced energy sector leaders of our generation,” said Dan Sutton, CEO of Syntholene. “His track record in taking complex systems from concept to commercial reality is directly aligned with Syntholene’s mission. Steve’s experience across carbon capture, large-scale project development, and global energy markets will be invaluable as we work together to accelerate the deployment of high-performance, low-cost, and carbon-negative synthetic fuels.”

“I’m delighted to join the Syntholene Board to help Dan and his team bring their technology into widespread deployment,” said Mr Oldham. “I have long believed that synthetic fuels will be essential in the energy transition and Syntholene’s pathway offers exciting potential.”

As a Board member, Mr. Oldham will support Syntholene’s strategic development, technology roadmap, regulatory engagement, and the maturation of project-level partnerships as the company advances toward commercial-scale deployment. Mr. Oldham was appointed to the Board on closing of the recently completed reverse takeover transaction. Please refer to Syntholene’s filing statement dated November 30, 2025 available on SEDAR+ for additional details.

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, manufactured 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’s power-to-liquid strategy harnesses thermal energy to power proprietary integrations of hydrogen production and fuel synthesis. Syntholene has secured 20MW of dedicated energy to support the Company’s upcoming demonstration facility and commercial scale-up.

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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words “expect”, “anticipate”, “aims”, “continue”, “estimate”, “objective”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “believe”, “plans”, “intends” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including but not limited to statements regarding the completion of the definitive agreement, successful implementation of the test facility, commercial scalability, technical and economic viability, anticipated geothermal power availability, anticipated benefit of eFuel, and future commercial opportunities, are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including without limitation the assumption that the Company will be able to execute its business plan, that the eFuel will have its expected benefits, that there will be market adoption, and that the Company will be able to access financing as needed to fund its business plan. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks, including, without limitation, Syntholene’s ability to meet production targets, realize projected economic benefits, overcome technical challenges, secure financing, maintain regulatory compliance, manage geopolitical risks, and successfully negotiate definitive terms. Syntholene does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Readers are advised to exercise caution and not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

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