Oxford University spin-out OXCCU is looking to redefine the economics of synthetic fuels, securing £20.75 million to scale its novel approach to producing sustainable aviation fuel. Rather than simply adding another production method to the mix, the company’s core innovation lies in a proprietary process that converts captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen directly into jet fuel in a single step. This chemical shortcut could prove critical in an industry desperately seeking viable paths to decarbonization.
The funding, sourced from a consortium of clean energy investors and strategic partners, is earmarked for a crucial transition: moving the technology from the lab to a commercial-scale demonstration plant.
The aviation industry faces immense pressure to reduce its emissions, but current sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is constrained by high costs and feedstock limitations, whether from biofuels or more complex multi-stage synthetic fuel processes. OXCCU’s one-step method aims to tackle the cost and complexity barrier head-on.
At the heart of OXCCU’s technology is an iron-based catalyst engineered to directly facilitate the reaction between CO2 and hydrogen to create the complex kerosene-range hydrocarbons that constitute jet fuel. Competing power-to-liquid technologies often require intermediate steps, such as first producing methanol or syngas, which adds equipment, energy requirements, and cost to the overall process. By eliminating these stages, OXCCU believes it can create a more streamlined and ultimately cheaper production pathway for e-fuels.
