Is the first fossil-free kerosene made from CO2 practical? The US Air Force thinks so

Berkeley, California-based carbon transformation company Twelve and Tulsa-based Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT) announced today that they have created the first fossil-free jet fuel from carbon dioxide using an electrochemical process. The project was funded by the US Air Force.

The new biofuel called E-Jet can be used in both commercial and military aviation.

Biofuels are known to be expensive. But where many processes have proven they can provide 65% of the kerosene from initial feedstock, EFT says their process yields over 80%. EFT has also signed a license agreement with the Norwegian company Nordic Electrofuel, which also produces fossil fuels.

Twelve and EFT state that the fossil-free jet fuel E-Jet is a direct replacement for petrochemical alternatives and does not require any changes to existing aircraft design or commercial regulations.

Twelve sums up how E-Jet is made on their website:

E-Jet is made with our carbon conversion technology, a new electrochemical reactor and a proprietary catalyst that electrifies CO2 and water, creating synthesis gas CO + H2, which we then refine into carbon-neutral jet fuel.

E-Jet is drop-in ready and certified, with the same quality and performance, but has over 90% lower life cycle emissions. That’s because we get the carbon in our fuel from the air, not the ground – and because it contains fewer contaminants than petroleum-based fuels, it burns cleaner.

In the summer of 2021, the US Air Force tested and qualified our e-jet product.

Twelve and EFT worked through a joint contract with AFWERX, a program office of the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program with the US Air Force’s Operational Energy Office.

Roberto Guerrero, Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operational Energy said:

One of our main goals in this project was to create a clean jet fuel that would increase safety and energy independence without compromising operational readiness. The successful completion of the project proves that efficiency and environmental responsibility are not mutually exclusive.

Continue reading: U.S. Airlines Increase Sustainable Aviation Fuel Target by 50% by 2030

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Photo: Twelve

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