About
Processes for Evolutionary Complexity Research and Applications (PERA)
Who are we
From complexity science to companies with global impact
PERA Complexity is a pioneer in the emerging field of applied complexity and complex systems engineering, built on over two decades of basic and applied research in complexity and chaos.
Based in the Netherlands, PERA Complexity develops and holds intellectual property arising from this research, advancing complexity based technologies from scientific insight through validation and application.
Its scientific team explores how chaos, self organization and complex system dynamics can be harnessed to create new technological capabilities. Operating at the intersection of fundamental science, applied research and engineering, PERA Complexity collaborates with an interdisciplinary international network of leading scientists, universities and research institutes.
The goal is to transform scientific discovery into successful companies with the potential to operate at planetary scale. PERA Complexity focuses on technologies capable of addressing large systemic challenges and generating measurable impact across energy, water, security, materials and other critical domains.
Research generates intellectual property. Intellectual property enables technology. Technology becomes companies designed to scale and create lasting impact.
Team
CO-FOUNDER & SCIENCE DIRECTOR
Co-founder & Strategy Director
Global Impact Director
Prof. Rodrigo Tavares
Partner and Senior Advisor
Institutional partners
PERA Complexity has collaborated with around 20 leading universities and research institutes across Asia, Europe and North America.
Our Modus Operandi
How We Build Companies
PERA Complexity follows a structured pathway from invention to validation, commercialization, company formation, and global scale, integrating science, IP, funding, and market development to progressively reduce risk.
- 01
Invention
Core invention by Al Cruz, focused on breakthrough technologies with the potential to positively impact millions or billions of people.
TRL 1–3 - 02
Market Context
Industry benchmarking to assess the state of the art, identify market gaps, map competing approaches, and identify the leading experts, institutions, and potential partners in the field.
- 03
Scientific Collaboration
Collaborative research with leading universities and laboratories to validate foundational principles, refine the technology concept, and jointly develop experimental proof of concept.
TRL 1–3 - 04
Laboratory Validation
Technology validated under controlled laboratory conditions to confirm performance, reproducibility, and technical feasibility.
TRL 4 - 05
Intellectual Property
Global patent filing to protect the invention across key markets.
- 06
Scientific Validation
Peer-reviewed publication(s) with key scientific partners to validate the scientific basis, methodology, and results of the technology.
- 07
Market Identity
Brand, website, and pitch deck shape the technology’s external identity.
- 08
Grant Funding
Grants to advance technology development and validation.
- 09
Industrial Validation
Technology validation in an industrial environment and prototype demonstration.
TRL 5–6 - 10
Acceleration
Accelerator participation to refine the business case, strengthen market strategy, and build connections with industry, investors, and strategic partners.
- 11
Business Case
Development of the technical and commercial business case to assess feasibility, scalability, market potential, and the path to commercialization.
- 12
VC Capital
VC capital and/or strategic corporate or industrial partnership to support commercialization and scale.
- 13
Company Formation
Formation of a standalone company to commercialize and scale the technology, with PERA Complexity retaining a controlling stake. The company’s location is determined based on strategic, regulatory, funding, talent, market-access, and operational considerations.
- 14
System Demonstration
Prototype demonstration, system qualification, and operational validation in real-world environments to prove readiness for commercial deployment.
TRL 7–9 - 15
Governance
C-suite selection and advisory board formation.
- 16
Scale & Impact
Commercial deployment and global scale-up to bring the technology to market, expand internationally, and maximize economic and societal impact.
History
Over two decades exploring what comes after conventional physics
PERA Complexity grew out of a research journey that began in 2005, when physicist and inventor Al Cruz filed the first patent behind what became the Complex Energy programme (granted in 2013). The original idea was unusual: to explore whether principles from complexity, chaos, photonics and self organisation could be engineered into new physical systems. The long patent prosecution period (2005-2013) was due to multiple rounds of interviews with office Examiners explaining the new science on complexity and the structural experimental pathways from theory to the many possible engineering configurations—a situation found in complexity-based in symmetry breaking natural phenomena but unlike single-domain man-made technologies. Later, together with Quelita Moreno, Cruz began assembling an international scientific network capable of testing, validating, and further developing the concept.
Early discussions included Professor Hugo Keller at the University of Zurich, Nobel Laureate K. Alex Müller, and Professor Grégoire Nicolis, one of the leading figures in modern complexity science and a close collaborator of Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine. In 2009, a four-day scientific meeting at Bronnbach Monastery in Germany brought together 20 internationally recognised scientists and helped formalise the first multidisciplinary research group. This was followed by a programme of experimental development undertaken in collaboration with specialist European research partners.
The programme then moved steadily from theory into engineering. A theoretical proof of concept was achieved in 2011, followed by the development of the first integrated laboratory-scale PERA Fiber prototype and experimental proof of concept in 2014. Years of materials development, nanostructure optimisation and fabrication work culminated in a more advanced prototype in 2022, establishing the basis for a continuous semi-industrial manufacturing system.
PERA Complexity was later incorporated in the Netherlands to consolidate this research, its intellectual property and the development of new applications. What began with one unconventional energy concept has since expanded into a broader technology platform spanning water, cybersecurity, healthcare or green hydrogen. The ambition remains the same as it was at the beginning: to turn complexity science into technologies capable of becoming successful companies at global scale.