OXCCU opens small-scale eSAF demonstration plant at London Oxford Airport in UK

Photo: OXCCU

Carbon-to-value company OXCCU announced Aug. 12 the launch of what it is calling its first official demonstration plant, OX1, at London Oxford Airport in the U.K.

The OX1 plant represents a significant advancement in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, according to OXCCU.

Through its novel catalyst and reactor design—the subject of over a decade of research at the University of Oxford—the plant will convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) directly to long-chain hydrocarbons with high conversion and selectivity for use as eSAF.

The facility based at London Oxford Airport and designed and operated by OXCCU will produce 1.2 liters of liquid fuel per day and will start operations in September.

According to OXCCU, the plant will be the world’s first demonstration of the direct conversion of CO2 and H2 to jet-fuel range hydrocarbons in a single step with minimal oxygenated byproducts using OXCCU’s novel catalyst.

The plant is part of OXCCU’s strategic scale-up journey as the first OXCCU plant out of the lab.

It will provide the data key to the design, build and operations of the 200-liter-per-day OX2 plant, previously announced, which will operate at Saltend Chemical Park Hull in 2026.

Commercial plants supplying the U.K. and elsewhere with power-to-liquid (PTL) SAF will then follow.

“Unlike other firms working on PTL fuels, OXCCU has reduced a traditionally multistep process to a single step, avoiding the need to first convert CO2 to CO—a difficult-to-electrify and energy-intensive first step,” OXCCU stated. “This innovative approach is key to reducing the cost of PTL SAF, which is currently the main barrier to PTL SAF adoption.”

OXCCU CEO Andrew Symes said, “We’re beyond excited to launch 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 the scale up is key, and this plant will generate the data and liters of fuel we need. Our mission is to enable future generations to fly without a climate impact, and to do that we need cost-effective PTL SAF. This launch marks a key step in achieving that goal.”

OXCCU is a climate-tech spin-out company from the University of Oxford.

To date, OXCCU has received investment from leading industry partners, including IP group (Kiko), Clean Energy Ventures, United Airlines, Eni, Aramco Ventures and Trafigura.

OXCCU also secured Series A funding in 2023 and earlier this year it won a £2.8 million (USD$3.6 million) grant through the U.K.-government backed Advanced Fuels Fund.