Mr. Ofer Vicus reports

ADURO APPOINTS INDUSTRY VETERAN TO ADVANCE PETROLEUM APPLICATIONS

Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. has appointed Scott Smith, MASc, PEng, as program director, petroleum technology solutions. Mr. Smith will advance the company's petroleum applications and support technical development of hydrochemolytic technology (HCT) solutions for bitumen and paraffinic crude upgrading.

The appointment follows completion of research and development work that expanded the application of HCT to paraffinic and waxy crude oils, broadening the company's petroleum activities beyond its established bitumen focus and supporting the evaluation of new potential commercial and industry relevant applications.

Key highlights

• Senior industry appointment. Scott Smith joins Aduro with more than 25 years of process and energy technology development experience, including 17 years at Cenovus Energy where he most recently led an enterprise-wide innovation portfolio across upstream and downstream operations.
• Aligned to recent technical milestone. Builds on recent technical milestones associated with Aduro's continuation-in-part (CIP) patent application filing, including feedstock characterization, product analysis and third party testing that demonstrated HCT applicability beyond bitumen upgrading to include paraffinic and waxy crude oils.
• Scope of role. Mr. Smith will focus on applying HCT within paraffinic crude and bitumen upgrading, including defining potential technology integration approaches within existing operating sites while guiding pilot campaigns that support localized scale-up.
• Platform context. Petroleum applications progress alongside Aduro's other core programs, including chemical recycling of waste plastics, the scale-up of the next-generation process (NGP) pilot plant and development of the first-of-a-kind (FOAK) industrial facility.

Mr. Smith brings more than 25 years of experience in industrial and energy technology development, with a focus on advancing processes from early stage research through pilot and demonstration. He spent 17 years at Cenovus Energy in roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as senior manager, operations innovation, where he led an enterprise-wide innovation portfolio across upstream and downstream operations. His experience includes technical leadership in partial upgrading technologies, where he directed multidisciplinary pilot and demonstration programs, and supported technical and commercial evaluation of emerging processes. Earlier in his career, he held roles at NOVA Chemicals focused on process development in petrochemical applications and is a named inventor on multiple patents. He currently serves as vice-president of the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association (CCQTA) and is a registered professional engineer in Alberta.

Mr. Smith joins Aduro as the company continues advancing its petroleum applications program, with bitumen upgrading progressing through continuous flow development and scale-up activities alongside recent laboratory validation extending HCT to paraffinic crude oils. Working closely with Eric Appelman, chief revenue officer, and supported by Aduro's research and engineering teams, Mr. Smith will direct development activities for bitumen and paraffinic crude upgrading applications, helping guide HCT from process evaluation and pilot-scale development toward commercially relevant operating conditions, industry integration considerations and potential deployment pathways within existing petroleum infrastructure.

Drawing on his extensive industry experience in crude upgrading, pilot operations and innovation deployment, Mr. Smith will guide pilot campaigns and help establish the technical and commercial basis for future scale-up activities. His role will also include engagement across the petroleum value chain, working with producers, refiners and mid-stream operators to evaluate how HCT may align with evolving operational requirements, refining environments and market needs. Through these activities, Aduro aims to further inform commercialization planning and market development opportunities for HCT in petroleum applications.

"Scott brings a combination of technical depth and industry experience that is directly aligned with the next phase of our petroleum applications," said Ofer Vicus, chief executive officer of Aduro. "With recent progress extending HCT to paraffinic crude alongside ongoing bitumen upgrading work, our petroleum activities are moving into structured pilot programs. Scott's experience in heavy oil upgrading and in leading multidisciplinary development efforts will strongly complement the ongoing progress achieved by our research and engineering teams to apply the technology within real-world systems, define integration approaches and execute pilot campaigns that support scale-up into demonstration and potential future commercial integration with industry."

"Hydrochemolytic technology offers a distinct approach to upgrading petroleum streams, particularly in its ability to operate at lower temperatures with selective chemistry that preserves desirable product qualities," said Mr. Smith. "This creates real opportunities to rethink how paraffinic crude and bitumen can be processed and integrated into existing value chains. The priority now is on translating the current work into pilot-scale data and demonstrating performance under conditions important to industry, while building toward applications that can be deployed at scale. I look forward to advancing this work alongside partners to evaluate how HCT can fit within existing production, transport and processing pathways and unlock its commercial potential."

About Aduro Clean Technologies Inc.

Aduro Clean Technologies is a developer of patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle waste plastics; convert heavy crude and bitumen into lighter, more valuable oil; and transform renewable oils into higher-value fuels or renewable chemicals. The company's hydrochemolytic technology relies on water as a critical agent in a chemistry platform that operates at relatively low temperatures and cost, a game-changing approach that converts low-value feedstocks into resources for the 21st century.

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