The British startup OXCCU has opened a demonstration plant for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at London Oxford Airport to reduce emissions from air traffic.

OXCCU emerged from the University of Oxford in 2021. The startup has developed a type of e-fuel that is produced by converting captured CO2 and hydrogen into SAF using renewable electricity.

SAF is designed as a “drop-in” fuel, meaning it can be mixed with conventional jet fuel and used in existing aircraft engines without modifications. The most well-known type of SAF is used cooking oil, but companies are currently exploring more scalable alternatives to meet growing demand for greener flights.

Unlike many other companies in the space, OXCCU says it has found a way to produce SAF in a single step. The company says this eliminates the need to first convert CO2 into CO2, a highly energy-intensive – and expensive – process. The fuel could “massively reduce the cost of SAF,” said the company’s CEO, Andrew Symes.

OXCCU’s demo plant will produce 1.2 litres of liquid fuel per day. “This plant will generate the data and litres of fuel we need,” said Symes. The startup aims to open a second plant in Hull in 2026 that can produce 200 litres per day.

Aviation accounts for almost 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, a figure that Increase to 20% by 2050. While battery-electric And hydrogen-powered aircraft Although SAF might work for short-haul flights, it is generally accepted that it is the only viable alternative to jet fuel on longer routes.

However, the production of SAF is currently very expensive and energy-intensive. In 2023, there will only be accounted for 0.2% of all aviation fuel for this year. OXCCU hopes to use its patented process to make the fuel more price competitive with jet fuel.

Yet OXCCU’s production process still requires electrolyzing water into hydrogen, which requires access to lots of clean electricity. This could prove to be a bottleneck for scaling, especially as demand for renewable energy to power everything from electric vehicles to data centers skyrockets.

And although e-fuels are considered CO2-neutral because their combustion releases as much CO2 as their production, their combustion still releases approximately the same amount of CO2 as jet fuel.

SAF does not eliminate CO2 emissions from aviation – it just neutralizes them if the entire life cycle is perfectly managed. However, in the absence of better alternatives, SAF could be our best chance to decarbonize long-haul flights.