On Thursday, a climate change technology startup called Twelve “took a major step toward sustainable aviation fuel production by launching a commercial-scale carbon conversion unit,” Bloomberg reported.
Twelve is one of several startups working on ways to convert captured CO2 into useful products. In the case of the Berkeley, California-based startup, its initial technology will be critical to sweeping aviation, one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize. Twelve uses a technology called electrolysis, which uses electricity to recycle carbon dioxide and water into a variety of products. When electricity is generated from renewable energy, the process is essentially carbon-free. The company's CO2 electrochemical reactor (called OPUS) will be the centerpiece of the first commercial production plant for sustainable aviation fuels, which is under construction in Moses Lake and is expected to be completed this year. The plant will run on hydroelectric power and use captured CO2 from a nearby ethanol plant. The CO2 and water will be delivered via OPUS and converted into syngas, the basis for sustainable aviation fuel.
Twelve's airline customers can blend it with conventional jet fuel. The resulting carbon credits can be purchased by corporate customers such as Microsoft to offset emissions associated with business travel.
Twelve's carbon conversion technology can be used to make products ranging from spandex pants to auto parts, but it will focus more on sustainable aviation fuels after announcement of tax credits for SAF blending, carbon capture and utilization, and hydrogen production Twelve said. Etosha Cave, co-founder and chief scientific officer; These tax credits helped the company launch this commercial arm. “Without that, we wouldn't be able to be as competitive in terms of being able to bring it to market at this stage,” Cave said.
The article notes that it is still not cost-competitive with conventional jet fuel, adding, “However, airlines are under increasing pressure from governments and airlines' own net-zero commitments to incorporate SAF into their fuel blends.” '
“Twelve does not disclose the cost of producing the fuel, but we expect the price to decline as the technology scales, eventually reaching parity with traditional jet fuel.”
