Metafuels secures $8 million seed funding

With Aviation responsible for around 2% of global CO2 emissions—some 800 million tonnes annually, decarbonising this sector remains a major technological challenge. Barriers facing electrification and hydrogen, which face complications in logistics and aircraft design and will not work for long-haul, mean that viable solutions for travel using these technologies are many years away from being ready for the go-to-market. In an industry where single aircraft are currently intended to have a lifespan of 30 years and cost around $100 million apiece, the cost of reframing fleets for hydrogen and e-aviation is economically impossible for most long-haul carriers. 

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Metafuels will help to overcome these challenges. Made using renewable electricity (eSAF), it has developed aerobrew, a proprietary technology that turns green methanol into SAF. The fuel will replace normal kerosene regardless of the size and type of aircraft or whether it operates short-haul or long-haul. Unlike the competition, Metafuels’ approach achieves the lowest cost of production through high efficiency and ultra-high yield of SAF as well as up to 90% reduction of life cycle emissions

eSAF does not require the re-engineering or re-purchase of planes—nor a redesign of the underlying fueling infrastructure, which supports both commercial and cargo airlines, route planning, or the existing customer experience, making it an attractive and versatile option. 

“Metafuels takes green methanol produced from renewable electricity and sustainable sources of carbon and—through a two-step process—turns it into jet fuel,” says Saurabh Kapoor, CEO and co-founder of Metafuels, who started the business with Leigh Hackett and Ulrich Koss in 2021. Since then, the team has grown into a highly experienced team of specialists from diverse backgrounds—including commercial and project development, working alongside a team of engineers and scientists. “We don’t want people to fly less; we want them to be able to do so more—to experience other cultures, and to play a role in a globalised economy—without a negative climate impact.”

The proceeds from its funding round will be used to set up a pilot facility at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) — with whom the company recently announced a collaboration. As part of the work performed within this project, the team has successfully synthesised, tested, and validated a novel catalytic system based on advances in nanotechnology that form the core of aerobrew. This round was led by Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and Contrarian Ventures. 

(Press release/RAN)