Aviation represents one of the most difficult-to-address sectors for emissions. To meet rapidly growing demand from customers looking to reach net zero climate goals, many companies, such as carbon transformation company Twelve, are developing synthetic fuels to replace fossil-based kerosene in the aviation industry.
Twelve develops E-Jet, a fossil-free, power-to-liquid sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from CO2, water, and renewable energy. Now, the company broke ground on a commercial-scale facility in Moses Lake, Washington, to produce its revolutionary E-Jet fuel.
Twelve’s E-Jet fuel is produced using the company’s carbon transformation technology in combination with EFT’s (Emerging Fuels Technology) Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and Maxx Jet upgrading technology. The revolutionary carbon transformation technology uses only renewable energy and water to transform CO2 into critical chemicals, materials, and fuels conventionally made from fossil fuels.
With up to 90% lower lifecycle emissions compared to conventional fossil-based fuels, E-Jet fuel is a drop-in synthetic fuel that works seamlessly with existing aircraft and airport infrastructure. It faces no real constraints on feedstock, thus offering the best viable long-term solution for addressing emissions in the aviation industry.
According to the company, transitioning to E-Jet fuel not only reduces reliance on fossil fuels but also reduces particulate emissions from aviation and decreases impacts on neighboring communities.
The new production facility is expected to begin E-Jet fuel production in mid-2024 at a capacity of approximately five barrels per day (40,000 gallons per year), with plans to quickly increase production capacity.
“Twelve uses carbon transformation to address hard-to-abate emissions across a variety of industries and to enable a world made from air, not oil,” said Twelve Co-Founder and CEO Nicholas Flanders. “Our commercial-scale production of E-Jet fuel will allow the aviation sector to achieve fossil-free flights for the long haul.”
Alaska Airlines, Microsoft, and Shopify will be the first customers to receive products from the Moses Lake plant under existing agreements. Fuel produced from this production facility will be used in regular airline operations as part of a three-party agreement between Alaska, Microsoft, and Twelve – as part of each company’s commitment to decarbonizing their operations.
