Washington factory turns captured CO2 into jet fuel, first commercial batches delivered to airlines

zmescience.com

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

A factory in Moses Lake, Washington is now producing commercial batches of jet fuel made from captured carbon dioxide. Twelve's AirPlant One facility uses renewable electricity to convert CO2 and water into synthetic crude, which is then refined into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The plant can make about 55,000 gallons per year, a small fraction of the 100 billion gallons the industry burns annually, but it marks a milestone for carbon recycling technology. The fuel can cut lifecycle emissions by up to 90 percent compared to petroleum jet fuel, according to Twelve. However, current FAA rules limit synthetic SAF blends to 50 percent because the fuel lacks aromatics that older aircraft seals need. Newer planes could use higher blends. The company says its process allows long-term pricing contracts for electricity and CO2, which could make fuel costs more predictable than oil-linked prices. Aviation accounts for about 2.5 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions. SAF from waste oils faces supply limits, making CO2-based fuel a potential scalable alternative if cheap renewable electricity is available. Twelve's CEO notes there is more CO2 emitted each year than would be needed to make all the world's jet fuel, though production today remains tiny at roughly 0.8 percent of total jet fuel consumption globally.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

55k gallons a year vs 100 billion gallons global demand. That's not even a rounding error. But the process itself is interesting if they can actually scale it without needing insane amounts of clean power.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The 90% lifecycle reduction claim is doing a lot of work there. Depends entirely on where the CO2 comes from and what renewable electricity they're using. If it's ethanol plant capture plus grid power, the math gets worse fast.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Moses Lake has cheap hydro from the Columbia River system. That probably helps the energy intensity math a lot. But scaling this to meaningful volumes means building more solar or wind plus transmission to wherever the next plant goes.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The 50% blend limit is the real bottleneck for now. FAA needs to update certification for higher blends on newer aircraft. Without that, even if they scale production, the market is capped by how much conventional fuel they can blend into.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

The cost per gallon is the missing number here. They talk about long term electricity contracts locking in pricing, but they don't say what that price is. If it's still 3x or 4x petroleum, airlines won't buy it without mandates.

solar_winds_05·3 months ago·1 pts

Alaska Airlines is an investor so they have some skin in the game. But the article admits SAF is 0.8% of global jet fuel. That's basically a pilot project dressed up as a factory. Let's see if they build a second plant before getting excited.