The ‘aha’ moment: Krystal Wrigley

This is especially true as ExxonMobil researchers work together on researching and developing the next generation of lower-emission transportation fuels. Reducing emissions from ships and planes and on the roads is essential to meeting climate goals, as the transportation sector accounts for nearly one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In this series, we spoke with some of ExxonMobil’s top scientists to find out what they’ve learned, what surprised them, and how they define success in the long game of scientific inquiry.

Krystal Wrigley is a Fuels Technology Chief at ExxonMobil’s Technology Center in Clinton, New Jersey. She’s spent her 16-year career as a chemical engineer for the company, beginning as a researcher and then advancing into her present role as a leader in technology strategy and product development to implementation. She has been uniquely placed to see the ways in which big ideas in the lab translate to commercial applications in the real world.

High-performance fuel has been Krystal’s area of expertise, with early work in quality testing and logistics for Formula 1 racing vehicles. Today, she focuses on lower-emission fuels for the commercial trucking, shipping and aviation sectors.

Krystal recently spoke with us about the process that leads to those breakthrough moments.