SAF tech firm Universal Fuel raises $3m
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California-based Universal Fuel Technologies (Unifuel) announced the successful closure of a $3m seed funding round from TO venture capital to secure ASTM certification and set up lab space for sample production.
The investment will accelerate the development of Unifuel’s Flexiforming technology, which promises to slash sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production costs by up to 50% while reducing related carbon emissions by as much as 75%.
With SAF demand projected to increase tenfold by 2030, Unifuel’s Flexiforming process enables the production of 100% synthetic SAF that doesn’t require blending with conventional jet fuel.
Joshua Phitoussi, managing partner at lead investor TO VC, highlighted the significance of Unifuel’s technology: “Today’s SAF production is challenged by feedstock limitations and expense, which are problems Unifuel’s Flexiforming solves. Unifuel has engineered a more efficient SAF production method that dramatically cuts costs while getting the most out of limited resources.”
Unifuel’s proprietary Flexiforming technology is a chemical process capable of converting various sustainable materials into high-quality SAF. This flexibility in feedstock usage addresses one of the key challenges in SAF production: resource limitations. Unifuel’s technology can convert sustainable materials, such as ethanol, methanol, renewable naphth
An illustration of 500-barrel/day Flexiformer.
a, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and others, into high-quality sustainable fuels or chemicals, including SAF.
Flexiforming enables an ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) pathway at approximately half the cost of current ETJ processes.
Alexei Beltyukov, CEO of Universal Fuel Technologies, emphasised the importance of their approach: “Sustainable aviation depends upon developing SAF that is not only cost-effective but able to work within the aviation industry as it stands today. With Flexiforming, we can give SAF producers the ability to make affordable, high-quality SAF that has the characteristics needed for aircraft performance and the flexibility to scale at their own rate.”
One of the most promising aspects of Flexiforming is its ability to complement current SAF production methods. By upgrading low-value byproducts from common processes like HEFA (hydrotreated esters and fatty acids), Unifuel’s technology can create better monetisation opportunities for producers and maximise the use of limited raw materials.
With the new funding, Unifuel plans to establish lab space in Texas for SAF sample production and prepare to enter the ASTM clearinghouse for SAF certification. The company’s technology has already undergone over a decade of research and extensive testing, positioning Unifuel to potentially play a pivotal role in the aviation industry’s transition to sustainable fuels.