“The future of fuel lies in e-fuels, which will be pivotal to the global energy transition.”

6th September 2024

Oxford University Innovation celebrates the launch of OXCCU's demonstration plant

• OXCCU, a company specialising in converting carbon dioxide into fuels, chemicals, and plastics, opened its first demonstration plant, OX1, at London Oxford Airport last month.
• This plant is the world’s first to convert CO2 and hydrogen directly into jet fuel in a single, streamlined step.
• Beginning this month, the OX1 plant will start producing approximately 1.2 litres of fuel per day.

Oxford spinout OXCCU marked a milestone in its journey last month with the launch of its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant at London Oxford Airport. The OX1 plant is a significant advancement in producing eco-friendly airplane fuel. After more than a decade of research, it employs a novel method to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) directly into jet fuel, called OX•EFUEL™.

Unlike other companies, OXCCU has streamlined the fuel production process by reducing multiple steps to just one. Most processes for making eco-friendly fuel first require converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO), a process that is both electricity-challenging and energy-intensive. OXCCU’s approach eliminates this difficult and costly step, resulting in a more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable process to meet large fuel demands.

Andrew Symes, CEO of OXCCU and an MChem chemistry graduate from the University of Oxford, said: “We are thrilled to have launched the OX1 plant, located close to where OXCCU was born. The fuel we’ve already made in a single step from CO2 in the lab has created great excitement with its potential to massively reduce the cost of SAF, but scaling up is key, and this plant will generate the data and fuel quantities we need.

“Our mission is to enable future generations to fly without a climate impact, and to do that, we need cost-effective Power-to-Liquid (PtL) technology, which uses renewable electricity to convert water and carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid fuels, like aviation fuel. SAF. This launch marks a key step in achieving that goal.”

The data generated from the plant will support the construction of a larger facility (OX2) expected to produce more fuel by 2026. Following that, the company plans to build additional plants to supply this eco-friendly fuel to the UK and beyond.

Dr Jane Jin, co-founder and COO of OXCCU, and former ClimateTech Lead at Oxford University Innovation, added: “The launch of our demonstration plant at London Oxford Airport is a prime example of how Oxford University’s scientific research can make a real-world impact. OXCCU wouldn’t be where we are today without the groundbreaking research from the university and the invaluable support from Oxford University Innovation (OUI) in forming our company. OUI’s early contributions were instrumental in accelerating our innovation. The future of fuel lies in e-fuels, which will be pivotal to the global energy transition.”

To find out more about OXCCU’s work, please visit their website.

Press release sign up