From Electrons to Molecules and Beyond

Growing up in Alabama surrounded by “a family of engineers,” Chris Romanczuk knew from a young age that he wanted to be one too – but says “I broke the mold by studying chemical engineering. The others in my extended family are mostly mechanical and electrical engineers.”

Chris pursued his undergraduate degree at Rice University in Houston, working in research labs throughout and contributing to published papers. Although he enjoyed research, he remembers feeling that “I wanted to work on things that had more immediate, commercial impacts.”

After graduating, he went to work at Fluor Corporation as a Process Engineer. He gained extensive experience in his seven years there in the design, construction, and operation of large petrochemical facilities, refineries, and natural gas power plants, which he credits with giving him a deep understanding of complex, multi-year projects.

“You weren’t just siloed into one part of the process. I was on multidisciplinary teams and got to see everything that goes into turning an idea into a real facility that makes products people use,” Chris reflects. “I decided to transition from the technical side to the commercial and strategy side, and having that experience gave me a holistic appreciation of all the moving parts.”

To facilitate that transition, Chris returned to university to pursue an MBA at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He served as an investment advisor and actively managed a portfolio as part of his MBA; he also interned at Phillips 66, and landed there after graduation, joining the Emerging Energy Group as one of its first employees.

“I managed investments across a wide range of technologies including renewable fuels, carbon capture, battery materials, and hydrogen at P66,” he recalls. “But after a few years, the company decided to scale back these projects in favor of their core refining activities, so I began looking for my next opportunity.”

Ultimately, Chris and his colleague Ryan Eslicker were both hired by EDF International to focus on hydrogen and its derivatives. At the time, EDFI operated independently of EDF Renewables; in April 2025, however, EDF Renewables North America and EDF International Division Americas merged to form EDF power solutions North America.

The new organization is still taking shape, but much has remained the same for Chris and the Long-Duration Storage, Transmission & Hydrogen team. His main focus is developing “green” hydrogen and ammonia projects, the latter of which has a wide range of industrial applications and is viewed as a promising option for decarbonizing the marine sector. “Hydrogen is difficult to transport, so unless a nearby application specifically requires hydrogen, combining it with nitrogen to form ammonia eases logistics,” he clarifies.

“There are many ways to produce hydrogen and ammonia, and industry uses colors to denote the method employed,” he continues. “When they’re made using fossil fuels, they’re ‘grey.’ If the associated carbon is captured, they’re ‘blue.’ And if they’re produced at facilities powered by renewable energy, they’re ‘green.’”

Most of Chris’s time is dedicated to the EVREC project located in Newfoundland, Canada. “EDF entered a strategic partnership in late 2024 to develop the EVREC green ammonia project, which demonstrates strong competitive advantages in the global market.”

Described as “a P2X mega project,” EVREC will generate significant amounts of renewable power (the “P”) when complete and use the clean electricity to produce fuels (the “X”) by running hydrogen electrolyzers, an air separation unit to produce nitrogen, and a facility that will combine the hydrogen and nitrogen to produce green ammonia for export.

“Demand is driven by decarbonization targets…we expect demand for green ammonia in Europe – where they have more advanced regulations – to grow significantly.”

“The energy transition is happening, but the pace varies by region,” Chris explains. “Demand is driven by decarbonization targets. The US and Canada have tax incentives to produce blue and green ammonia but limited regulatory incentives to use them – so ‘grey’ ammonia wins on price. In contrast, there’s demand for blue ammonia in Asia, and we expect demand for green ammonia in Europe – where they have more advanced regulations – to grow significantly.”

EVREC has secured more than 100 square miles (300 square kilometers) of crown lands and plans to construct up to three gigawatts of onshore wind, as well as solar. The project could produce as much as 200,000 tons of green hydrogen and 1,000,000 tons of green ammonia annually for export to global markets. The project is still in the early stages with the objective of reaching a final investment decision in late 2026 and full commercial operation in 2031.

While Chris expects EVREC will keep him busy for the foreseeable future, he notes that his team “is also very interested in another hydrogen derivative, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).” This interest is shared with EDF Group globally, which is developing projects to produce electro-sustainable aviation fuel, or eSAF.

SAF is a jet fuel alternative that’s molecularly identical to conventional fossil-derived jet fuel but derived from non-petroleum-based feedstocks. As such, it can be used in existing aircraft and fueling infrastructure without any modifications.

Aviation accounts for an estimated 2.5% of global GHG emissions; today, SAF can reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by 60-80% compared to fossil-derived jet fuels. If SAF is produced with renewable electricity it’s called eSAF, which presents the possibility of achieving a reduction of up to 90-100% in lifecycle emissions.

“At the end of the day, we’re using electrons to create molecules. Whether it’s green ammonia for shipping, eSAF for air travel, or other use cases, we believe the market for green fuels will expand considerably in the coming years.”

“At the end of the day, we’re using electrons to create molecules. Whether it’s green ammonia for shipping, eSAF for air travel, or other use cases, we believe the market for green fuels will expand considerably in the coming years,” Chris says. “These are ambitious, complex, exciting projects, and the creation of EDF power solutions North America means that we’re well-positioned to leverage a deep bench of talent and significant organizational resources. I’m excited to see what the future will bring!”