Peter Bond | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation(s) | Mining and Energy Executive |
| Known for | Linc Energy,Dunk Island, Infinite Power |
| Title | Chairman of the Board, Infinite Power |
| Children | 6 |
| Website | peterbond.co |
Peter Bond is an Australian mining and energy executive, best known as the former Executive Chairman ofLinc Energy and creator of the world's first synthetic crude oil. He is now a director of renewable energy company Infinite Power[1] and ranked among the most influential business executives in Australia inWho's Who Business.[2]
Bond was raised inCamden, New South Wales. His father was a truck driver and his mother was a teacher. He finished high school in 1981 and became a metallurgist withBHP.[3]
After leaving BHP, Bond began buying quarries, and soon started making $17,000 a month trucking coal. He became a millionaire by age 26.[3] Bond debuted on the AustralianBRW rich list in 2008 with a net worth of $352,000,000,[4] made it to number 21 on theSunday Mail Queensland Top 150 Rich List[5] and peaked as the 10th richest business person in Australia, with a net worth of $572,000,000.[3]
As a metallurgist, Bond always had an interest in mining technology and renewable energy, and in 2005 he took overLinc Energy,[6] signing a memorandum withSyntroleum granting a licence to use the company's proprietarygas-to-liquid technology. This technology was used to build a GTL pilot plant in November 2007 at Linc's Chinchilla facility. The plant was commissioned in August 2008. The firstsynthetic crude oil was produced in October 2008.[7]
In 2012, in a world-first, Bond flew 4,000 km across Australia in a jet powered by the fuel produced at Linc Energy's gas to liquid plant in Chinchilla.[8] The company a signed memorandum of agreement withBP for its jet fuel and was heralding the ability to produce 250,000 litres of jet fuel a year.
The following year Bond signed a deal with Russian BillionaireRoman Abramovich to explore gas to liquid opportunities in Russia,[9] after the two met in a Brisbane restaurant – a meeting which was even covered by major international news outlets, includingFox News.[10]
After Linc Energy entered voluntary administration in 2016, following a court case which was later dropped,[11] Bond put his energy into the restoration ofDunk Island,[12] before starting renewable energy business, Infinite Power.[13]
Bond has six children with his ex-wife Louise.[14] He has no relation to Australian business personAlan Bond.
Bond appeared on the Australian version ofThe Secret Millionaire, a television program in which prominent millionaires go undercover in impoverished communities and give away substantial sums of money to help those in need. Bond’s appearance and $300,000 donation were widely praised as being among the most generous of the series.[15]His experience on The Secret Millionaire led him to strike up a friendship withRussell Crowe and launch a television production company called Rough Diamond. Rough Diamond also included a community foundation which received part of the company's profits.[16]Rough Diamond, under Bond's guidance, was best known for producing the documentary series 'Where it all Began' – a series of "Real life, true stories of "the Aussie battlers" who against all odds came out on top".[17]