Prometheus announces breakthrough in SAF production
Prometheus Fuels announced new pathway for production of synthetic paraffinic kerosene (the basis for SAF jet fuel and e-diesel) from direct air capture of CO2 and off-grid renewable electricity.
The company said that the new e-kerosene pathway makes Fischer-Tropsch synthesis obsolete, reducing the cost to make e-fuels by more than 80%.
“Our new kerosene pathway takes e-fuels beyond decarbonisation to direct economic competition with oil-based fuels,” said Rob McGinnis, founder and CEO of Prometheus.
“Our pathway puts three holy grails of energy within reach: a new source of energy for data centers, limitless low-cost SAF, and unblockadeable fuel logistics for defense. The implications of this new technology – the advantages it creates for energy independence and national security – are profound.”
It is also the first process in history to make kerosene from electricity and atmospheric CO2 without using hydrogen.
The company claims that the kerosene it produces is 100% carbon neutral. Two independent engineering reviews confirmed demonstration of the new pathway using commercial-scale cells.
The announcement follows the company’s recent achievement of completing a one-year pilot-scale demonstration of its DAC-to-fuels technology platform, producing e-methanol at its Titan Forge Alpha pilot facility in Santa Cruz, California.
The new pathway eliminates the major cost drivers of conventional e-fuels systems. It does not desorb CO2 into a pure gas stream; does not use hydrogen; does not rely on high-temperature or high-pressure reactors; and was purpose-built to operate on intermittent off-grid renewable electricity – the cheapest electrons in the world – avoiding the high cost and geographic constraints of being connected to a grid.
“There is also no need for distillation. Kerosene forms directly in Prometheus’ Faraday Reactor hydrocarbon electrolyser and self-separates from water, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, producing finished kerosene fuel,” the company said in a press release.
Prometheus is backed by investors including Maersk, BMW, and Y Combinator.